A BRIEF  HISTORY 


...  OF  THE  ... 

ARCHDIOCESE  OF  BOSTON 

...  BY  THE  ... 

REV.  MICHAEL  J.  SCANLAN 


CENTENNIAL  YEAR.  1908 


BX 

1418 

.B7 

S2 

1\ 

NEDL 

107799  =: 


PRICE  TEN  CENTS. 


NICHOLAS  M.  WILLIAMS  CO. 

PUBLISHERS 
BOSTON.  MASS. 


A BRIEF  HISTORY 


...  OF  THE  ... 

ARCHDIOCESE  OF  BOSTON 

...  BY  THE  . . . 

REV.  MICHAEL  J.  SCANLAN 


CENTENNIAL  YEAR,  1908 


NICHOLAS  M.  WILLIAMS  CO. 

PUBLISHERS 
BOSTON.  MASS. 


'2. 


Bf!STt)NCOU®F 


PREFACE: 


To  The  Reader: 

This  brief  account  of  the  history  of  the  Arch-diocese  of 
Boston  is  offered  during  this  Centennial  Year  with  the  hope 
that  many  may  be  able  to  familiarize  themselves  with  the  prin- 
cipal events  in  the  life  of  the  Church  in  and  about  Boston, 
from  the  advent  of  the  first  priest  to  the  present  day.  The 
author  has  aimed  only  at  the  narration  of  facts  as  he  has  found 
them  in  trustworthy  historical  records  or  has  learned  them  from 
the  lips  of  those  who  were  active  participants  in  many  of  the 
events  narrated.  If  an  occasional  observation  is  made  con- 
cerning some  event  or  person,  it  is,  at  least,  honestly  made, 
whether  it  accord  with  the  sentiment  of  the  reader  or  not. 
There  is  no  claim  laid  to  much  originality  in  this  brief  history 
but  rather  the  author  is  indebted  to  many  for  valuable  infor- 
mation given. 


ARCHBISHOP  O’CONNELL 


dlutmiturtiiui 

Sinumtuty  uf  (Cathnlirity  tit  Autrrira 

The  first  Christian  congregation  established  in  North  America, 
indeed,  in  the  Western  Hemisphere,  was,  without  question,  Roman 
Catholic.  We  read  that  Iceland  and  Greenland  had  been  visited 
and  evangelized  by  Irish  and  Norwegian  missionaries  fully  400  years 
before  Christopher  Columbus  discovered  America,  and  it  is  certain 
that  Norse  traders  and  missionaries  penetrated  into  the  North 
American  continent,  even,  in  all  probability,  as  far  south  as  the  ter- 
ritorv  now  included  in  the  Boston  Diocese. 

% 

But  these  early  forerunners  of  Columbus  left  the  rest  of  the 
world  of  their  day  in  almost  total  ignorance  of  their  voyages  and 
discoveries  and  hence  to  Columbus,  who  made  known  to  the  world 
the  existence  of  our  great  continent,  belongs  the  real  glory  of  having 
discovered  it. 

While  there  are  not  wanting  evidences  of  earlier  Catholic  ex- 
plorers than  the  vSpanish  in  this  country,  for  practical  purposes,  we 
may  consider  that  our  just  pride  in  the  part  Catholics  took  in  the 
discovery  and  exploration  of  America  is  sufficiently  sustained  in 
the  fact  that  Columbus,  himself  a Catholic,  made  his  voyage  of  dis- 
covery under  the  auspices  of  a Catholic  King  and  Queen  for  the 
very  holy  purpose,  among  other  reasons,  of  extending  the  benefit 
of  Christianity  to  the  inhabitants  of  unexplored  lands. 

It  may  be  of  interest  here  to  recall  the  prayer  that  was  so  fer- 
vently said  by  him,  when  he  first  put  his  foot  upon  American  soil. 
It  was  a prayer  of  dedication  placing  the  New  World  under  the 
protection  of  God  and  His  Ploly  Church. 

“O  Lord  God  Eternal  and  Omnipotent,  Who,  by  Thy  Divine 
Word,  hast  created  the  heavens,  the  earth,  and  the  sea! 

Blessed  and  glorified  be  Thy  Name  and  praised  Thy  Majesty, 
Who  hast  deigned  by  me,  thy  humble  servant,  to  have  that 
vSacred  Name  made  known  and  preached  in  this  other  part 
C)f  the  world.” 

It  is  said  that  other  Catholic  explorers  were  wont  to  repeat 


6 


History  ok  Boston  Archdiocese 


this  same  sublime  ])rayer,  wlien  they  came  uj)on  new  lands. 

Immediately  after  this  solemn  prayer,  Columbus  named  the 
island  upcm  which  he  landed  San  Salvador  (Holy  Saviour)  and  he 
ordered  a lar^e  cross  to  be  erected  in  this  spot. 

Then  was  chanted  a Christian  hymn  in  America,  the  first  of 
which  we  have  any  record.  Tt  was  the  “Vexilla  Regis,”  a hymn  to 
the  Holy  Cross. 

It  was  an  easy  matter  for  others  to  reap  where  Columbus  had 
sown  and  so  we  find  Spanish  expeditions  leaving  Europe  quite 
frecjuently  after  the  discovery.  It  is  true,  these  expeditions  were 
undertaken  with  the  hope  of  something  besides  a spiritual  reward, 
yet,  it  can  be  truthfully  said  that  the  Spanish  explorers  brought 
many  missionaries  with  them  on  their  voyages  for  the  avowed  pur- 
pose of  winning  the  souls  of  the  natives  to  God.  Franciscan  and 
Dominican  missionaries  were  very  conspicuously  active,  wherever 
discovery  opened  up  inhabited  territory  to  them. 

Nor  was  the  efifort  to  discover  and  evangelize  the  native 
Americans  exclusively  the  work  of  Spain  and  her  subjects.  Other 
nations.  France,  and  England,  sent  out  expeditions  under  the  Cath- 
olic na\'igators,  Cabot,  Cartier,  De  Soto  and  others. 

In  the  early  part  of  the  ihth  century  the  Spanish  Dominican 
and  Franciscan  Fathers  were  working  with  apostolic  zeal  amongst 
the  inhabitants  of  the  Southern  part  of  our  continent*.  When  the 
first  quarter  of  the  i6th  century  was  nearly  over,  the  French  King, 
Francis  I,  sent  an  expedition  to  America  under,  the  Italian  Verra- 
zano.  The  latter  was  soon  followed  by  Cartier,  who  discovered 
the  St.  Lawrence  River  and  so  named  it. 

The  Catholic  missionaries,  in  Christianizing  the  Aborigines  of 
America,  may  be  divided  into  three  groups;  the  Spanish  Fathers  in 
the  XVI  Century,  whose  efforts  were  principally  confined  to  the 
Southern  parts  of  our  country;  the  French  Fathers,  whose  missions, 
established  late  in  the  i6th  century,  were  in  the  North;  and  the 
English  and  Irish  missionaries,  who  established  themselves  in 
Maryland  and  a few  other  Atlantic  States,  during  the  17th  century. 
During  this  century,  the  spiritual  needs  of  those  who  had  colonized 
in  America  began  to  claim  most  of  the  time  and  service  of  the  mis- 
sionaries. 

In  1522,  Rope  Clement  yil  sent  a bishop  to  Cuba,  w’here  mis- 
sionaries had  been  laboring  for  fully  30  years  before.  Florida  was, 
some  years  after,  added  to  the  Cuban  Diocese.  The  oldest  city  in 
the  United  States,  St.  Augustine,  Florida,  was  founded  in  1565  by 
the  Catholic  pioneers. 


Beginnings  of  Catholicity  in  America 


7 


The  last  half  of  the  i6th  century  and  the  early  17th  century 
witnessed  the  spread  of  Catholic  missionary  work  to  the  Carolinas, 
Georgia.  Alabama,  New  Mexico,  Texas  and  Lower  California. 

Indeed,  before  1550,  Coronado  had  entered  New  Mexico  with 
five  Franciscan  missionaries  accompanying  his  expedition. 

In  1583  or  about  forty-three  years  after  Coronado  had  opened 
up  New  Mexico,  missionaries  joining  a band  of  explorers,  under 
a Spanish  nobleman  named  Espego,  founded  Santa  Fe  (Hol}^  Faith  ) 
the  second  oldest  city  in  the  United  States. 

In  the  latter  half  of  the  i6th  century,  the  zealous  members  of 
the  newly  established  Society  of  Jesus  began  to  respond  to  the 
call  for  missionaries  and  each  year  recorded  the  arrival  of  groups 
of  Jesuits.  They  were  men  of  iron  endurance  and  of  wonderful  zeal. 
With  their  names  is  inseparably  linked  the  opening  of  the  Great 
West  and  the  development  of  Canada.  They  were  also  most  suc- 
cessful amongst  the  Indians  of  Maine,  Northern  New  York  and  in 
the  region  of  the  Great  Lakes. 

With  unflagging  courage,  they  explored  our  mighty  rivers,  the 
seemingly  limitless  plains  and  the  forbidding  wildernesses.  Flour- 
ishing cities  of  the  West,  St.  Louis,  Marquette,  Joliet,  etc.,  bear 
names  that  will  be  lasting  memorials  of  their  saintly  pioneers  and 
founders  or  of  those  who  fostered  and  supported  the  work  of  the 
missionaries. 

These  apostolic  men,  while  preaching  the  Gospel,  sought  to  help 
the  natives,  in  every  phase  of  their  life.  They  taught  farming  and 
house-building  to  the  benighted  tribes  and  gave  them  the  benefit 
of  their  superior  knowledge. 

The  list  of  Dominican,  Franciscan  and  Jesuit  missionaries,  who 
were  martyred,  while  working  to  Christianize  the  natives,  is  a long 
one.  Some  were  murdered  upon  their  very  first  appearance  amongst 
the  Indians,  while  others  struggled  for  years  to  promote  peace 
between  the  tribes  and  to  befriend  them  in  every  conceivable  way 
only  to  be  suddenly  put  to  death  by  some  perverse  or  misguided 
chief. 

Certainly,  the  early  Spanish  and  French  missionaries  well  deserve 
the  admiration  and  gratitude  of  the  American  people.  They,  with 
the  zeal  of  apostles  and  with  the  sublime  faith,  of  the  martyr’s  bore 
most  cheerfully  all  the  hardships  and  cruelties  that  came  to  them 
from  the  savage  natives  in  order  that  the  light  of  God’s  true 
religion  might  enter  their  souls. 

It  has  been  repeatedly  said,  and  with  truth,  too,  that  whenever 
the  explorers  and  missionaries  of  the  so-called  Latin  countries, 


8 


IIlSTOR'^'  OF  lk)STON  ArCHDIOCFSF 


Syjain,  France,  Portugal  and  Italy,  entered  a new  country,  they 
sought  to  Christianize  and  civilize  the  natives.  They  encountered 
many  difficulties  and  met  almost  insurmountal)le  barriers,  yet  their 
policy  was  always  the  same.  The  natives  to  them  were  human 
beings,  however  savage  they  might  be,  when  discovered  and  they 
should  be  taught  God’s  tiuth  and  instructed  in  the  arts  of  civilization. 
This  very  evident  characteristic  of  the  early  discoverers  and  explor- 
ers from  the  Latin  countries  is  mentioned  here  to  their  eternal  credit 
as  the  same  beneficent  principle  seems  not  to  have  swayed  the  early 
so-called  Anglo-Saxon  settlers,  with  a few  honorable  exceptions,  in 
their  relations  with  the  natives. 


Catholicity  in  the  Original  Thirteen  Colonies  9 


CHAPTER  I. 

CatbiiUrtlij  in  tlir  ©ruunal  alnrlmt  (CnUntu's, 

We  are  now  approaching  an  epoch  in  the  early  settlement  of 
America  with  which  the  object  of  this  short  historical  sketch  is  more 
especially  concerned.  We  refer  to  the  coming,  in  1634,  of  a few 
English  and  Irish  Catholic  settlers  to  Maryland,  under  the  generous 
and  high-minded  Calverts. 

To  this  Catholic-settled  colony  belongs  the  credit  of  having  been, 
amongst  the  colonies,  the  first  to  grant,  by  law,  to  all  comers,  perfect 
freedoiii  of  worship. 

In  the  light  of  the  terrible  persecutions  that  were  then  going  on 
in  Europe  and,  which  were,  in  a measure,  influencing  America  at 
that  time,  this  was  an  exceptional  attitude.  But  hostile  non- 
Catholic  influence  outside  of  Maryland  had  the  fullest  sway  in  every 
other  colony,  save  in  Pennsylvania,  where  the  Quaker  farmers 
maintained  fair  and  liberal  laws.  Hence,  ^Maryland  was  not  per- 
mitted to  pursue  her  just  and  liberal  cause  in  peace.  The  neigh- 
boring colonies  bitterly  opposed  her.  The  rulers  of  England  were 
more  disposed  to  side  with  Maryland’s  enemiies  than  with  her  own 
settlers.  Cruel  laws  were  accordingly  exacted  against  her  and 
severe  disabilities  were  imposed  upon  her  citizens.  This  very  un- 
fortunate condition,  with  but  an  occasional  evidence  of  justice  to 
Catholics,  continued  until  just  before  the  American  Revolution. 

One  can  readil}^  understand  how  difficult  it  was  for  Catholics  to 
secure  even  the  semblance  of  justice  in  the  other  colonies,  when,  in 
their  own  colony  of  Maryland,  they  were  so  harshly  treated. 

Catholicitygrewvery  slowly  in  thecoloniesduringthe  lyth  and  i8th 
centuries.  Eighty  years  after  Xew  York  City  had  been  founded 
or  in  1693,  there  were  only  seven  Catholic  families  residing  there. 

There  were  several  reasons  for  this  backwardness.  The  tyranny 
of  England’s  rulers  had  made  life  unbearable  for  the  Catholic 
people.  They  were  all  subject  to  England  and  enjoyed  no 
more  rights  than  England  saw  fit  to  concede  to  them.  The  few 
priests,  who  were  laboring  for  the  good  of  souls  in  the  colonies,  be- 
fore the  Revolutionary  war  and  for  a short  time  after,  were  under 
the  immediate  jurisdiction  of  the  Vicar-Apostolic  of  London, 
England. 

Soon  after  the  war,  the  priests  of  the  colonies  held  a council  and 


lo 


History  of  Boston  Archdiocksk 


petitioned  Pope  Pius  VI  to  appoint  a Superior  for  the  United  States. 
The  Rev.  John  Lewis,  who,  before  the  war,  had  been  appointed 
Vicar-General  of  the  Vicar-Apostolic  of  London,  for  the  Catholic 
missions  in  the  colonies,  was  recommended  to  the  Holy  Father, 
throu,i^h  the  Congregation  De  Propaganda  Fide,  as  a worthy 
candidate  for  the  office  of  Superior  of  the  Missions.  The  Rev.  John 
Carroll,  who  had  written  very  strongly  in  support  of  Father  Lewis, 
of  Ireland  and  England  and  so  some  came  here  to  cast  their  lot  with 
the  colonists,  only  to  find  that  the  practice  of  the  Catholic  religion 
was  not  only  practically  impossible  but  that  whosoever  should 
profess  it  openly  w'ould  be  severely  punished  and,  not  infrequently, 
put  to  death.  Many  other  Catholics  w^ere  sent  over  here  from  Ire- 
land as  slaves  and  they,  too,  after  a while,  were  merged  into  the  non- 
Catholic  multitude.  There  are,  however,  in  this  country’s  history, 
many  beautiful  examples  of  the  heroic  preservation  of  the  faith  by 
English,  Irish  and  French  Catholic  families,  whose  noble  ancestors 
counted  it  a precious  privilege  to  have  the  true  faith,  and  a loving 
duty  to  preserve  it,  whatever  else  they  might  lose,  or  suffer. 

It  is  almost  incredible,  in  the  light  of  the  changed  conditions  that 
prevail  in  this  country  today,  how  such  intense  hatred  could  have 
existed  on  the  part  of  one  class  of  Christians  towards  another. 
Catholics  not  only  suffered  social  ostracism  but  they  had  very  few 
rights  according  to  law.  Such  were  some  of  the  dire  effects  of  the 
so-called  reformation,  which  carried  away  millions  of  souls  from  the 
true  faith  and  from  the  fundamental  good  in  the  Church,  by  an  ex- 
aggeration of  some  evil  but  remediable  features. 

It  required  some  cause,  in  wffiich  the  rights  of  the  colonists  w'ere 
threatened,  to  soften  their  harsh  intolerance  and  to  cause  them  to 
plead  for  and  welcome  the  services  of  their  Catholic  brethren. 
This  came  in  the  tyrannical  oppression  of  the  colonists  by  the  mother 
country,  England.  The  American  Revolution  found  Catholic  and 
non-Catholic  side  by  side  in  the  common  defence  of  their  rights 
and  in  the  ultimate  defeat  of  England  and  the  establishment  of  the 
United  States  of  America  as  a separate  nation. 

The  thirteen  original  colonies  had  been  settled,  for  the  most  part, 
by  Protestants  from  England  and  Holland  and  by  the  French 
Huguenots. 

Father  Carroll,  who  afterwards  became  the  first  Bishop  and 
Archbishop  of  the  United  States,  was  regarded  as  especially  w^ell 
qualified  for  this  important  office.  He  w^as  a native  of  Mary- 
land, having  been  born  of  distinguished  Catholic  parents  on  Jan- 
uary 8th,  1735.  His  early  education  was  received  at  a Jesuit 


Catholicity  in  the  Original  Thirteen  Colonies 


I 


school  in  Bohemia,  Eastern  Maryland.  To  pursue  higher  studies, 
he  was  sent  to  Europe,  to  St.  Omers  in  French  Flanders,  from  which 
seat  of  learning,  after  a very  brilliant  course,  he  joined  the  So- 
ciety of  Jesus. 

In  1769,  he  was  ordained  a priest  and  labored  in  Europe  as  such, 
until  the  suppression  of  the  Society  of  Jesus  in  1773.  Then,  after 
much  deliberation,  viewing  with  alarm  the  strained  relations  exist- 
ing, at  that  time,  between  England  and  the  Colonies,  he  resolved 
to  cast  his  lot  with  the  people  of  his  native  land  and  accordingly,  he 
left  England  for  America  in  1774,  having  secured  faculties  as  a 
secular  priest,  from  the  Vicar- Apostolic  of  London. 

Father  Carroll  soon  arrayed  himself,  with  the  rest  of  his  family, 
on  the  side  of  the  Colonists  and  when  in  1776  the  Continental  Con- 
gress appointed  three  commissioners  to  induce  the  Canadians 
to  remain  neutral  in  the  struggle  of  the  Revolution,  the  Rev.  John 
Carroll  was  requested  by  the  Congress  to  accompany  this  Com- 
mission. There  was  a peculiar  fitness,  amply  verified  by  subse- 
quent events,  in  the  selection  of  Father  Carroll  for  the  office  of 
Superior,  which  he  held  until  Nov.  6,  1789,  when  the  reigning  Pontifif 
Pope  Pius  VI  appointed  him  the  first  Bishop  of  the  United  States 
with  his  See  at  Baltimore.  Father  Carroll  went  to  England,  soon 
after  receiving  word  of  his  selection  as  a bishop  and  was  conse- 
crated there  by  Bishop  Walmesley,  the  Senior  among  the  Vicars- 
Apostolic  of  England  at  that  time. 

There  weare  bout  30,000  Catholics  and  betw^een  30  and  40  priests 
in  the  United  States,  at  the  time  of  Bishop  Carroll’s  elevation  to  the 
See  of  Baltimore.  His  territory  or  diocese  included  the  whole  coun- 
try along  the  Atlantic  Coast  from  Maine  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  ex- 
clusive of  Florida  and  as  far  west  as  the  Mississippi  River.  The 
country  embraced  in  the  Louisiana  Purchase  was  not  then  included 
in  the  United  States. 

Bishoy^  Carroll  took  up  his  great  charge,  with  high  hopes  for  the 
Church  in  the  United  States.  His  solicitude  included  all  and  dis- 
tance did  not  lessen  his  love  for  those,  who  were  far  removed  from 
his  See.  With  so  few  priests  at  his  disposal,  it  ma}^  be  readily  imag- 
ined how  very  extensive  were  the  missions  assigned  to  each. 

Then,  too,  America,  previous  to  the  establishment  of  the  first 
bishopric,  had  no  school  or  seminary  to  educate  candidates  for  the 
ywiesthood.  The  missionaries,  who  had  weathered  all  the  hardships 
of  colonial  days,  were  now  dwindling  away  and  the  occasional  priest, 
whom  persecutions  abroad  in  France  and  Ireland  had  driven  to 
our  shores,  was  not  especially  fitted,  as  a rule,  because  of  difference 


12 


History  of  I^oston  Archdiocksk 


of  training  and  discipline,  for  the  very  strenuous  work  of  our  infant 
Church  in  America. 

But  (lod,  in  His  wise  Providence,  was  not  unmindful  of  the  diffi- 
culties that  beset  the  path  of  the  pioneer  priests  of  the  United  vStates. 
Slowly,  but  surely,  their  ceaseless  and  untiring  efforts  bore  fruit  and 
that  abundantly.  Every  year  they  managed  to  visit  and  administer 
to  the  faithful  in  whatsoever  extreme  corner  of  the  statestheymight 
live.  That  they  suffered  untold  hardships,  we  know  full  well,  but 
they  were  real  apostles  seeking  God’s  glory  alone  and  in  such  a 
cause,  they  counted  it  a prix'ilege  to  suffer. 


ST, 


AUGUSTINE’S  CHAPEI oldest  church  in  archdiocese 


1+ 


History  ok  Boston  Akchdiockse 


Chapter  II. 

HUnilini’s  JFirat  JJastur, 

Boston  had  been  visited  by  an  occasional  Catholic  priest,  long 
before  the  Revolutionary  war.  However,  no  one  of  them,  so  far 
as  is  known,  was  permitted  to  hold  public  service,  as  the  prevailing 
laws,  as  well  as  the  abiding  prejudices  of  the  Puritan  colonists  against 
Catholics,  made  the  open  observance  of  their  religious  service  prac- 
tically impossible. 

As  early  as  1650,  a Jesuit  missionary.  Father  Gabriel  Druillettes, 
came  to  Boston  as  a representative  of  the  French  government  to 
solicit  the  aid  of  the  Puritans  against  the  hostile  Iroquois  Indians. 
He  was  well  received  by  the  authorities  and,  it  seems,  even  permitted 
to  say  Mass  in  a room  reserved  for  that  purpose,  by  his  somewhat 
liberal  host. 

Other  priests,  French  and  Irish,  eager  to  administer  to  the 
spiritual  needs  of  their  fellow-country  men,  who  had  come  to  settle 
in  New  England,  are  known  to  have  been  in  Boston  during  the  17th 
and  the  early  part  of  the  i8th  century. 

The  first  public  Mass  was  celebrated  in  Boston,  on  November  2nd, 
1788.  Hitherto,  the  severe  penal  laws  had  hindered  priests  from 
celebrating  otherwise  than  furtively. 

This  Mass  was  said  by  a French  Abbe  Claude  Florent  Bouchard 
de  la  Poterie.  The  place,  where  this  first  Mass  was  celebrated,  was 
a small  brick  church  on  School  St.  a few  doors  from  Washington 
St.,  built  about  1715  by  the  French  Huguenots,  Avho,  in  the  course 
of  years,  sold  it  to  the  Congregationalists.  The  latter  used  it  only 
a few  years  and  in  1788  it  was  hired  for  service  by  the  Catholics. 
The  Abbe  de  la  Poterie  had  been  a chaplain  in  the  French  navy  and 
resolved  to  settle  in  Boston  but  finding  himself  quite  unequal  to 
the  task  of  directing  the  somewhat  scattered  flock,  he  left  for  the 
West  Indies.  The  first  baptismal  record  in  the  Cathedral  books 
was  made  by  the  Abbe  de  la  Poterie,  April  nth,  1789. 

He  was  followed  by  another  French  priest  named  Rev.  Louis 
Rousselet,  whostayed  here  but  ashort  time, as  the  newly  consecrated 
Bishop  Carroll,  shortly  after  his  return  from  Europe,  came  to  Boston 
and  appointed  the  Rev.  John  Thayer  pastor  of  the  church. 

Father  Thayer  was  a native  Bostonian.  He  belonged  to  one  of 
the  oldest  and  most  distinguished  families  in  Massachusetts. 


FRANKLIN  STREET  CATHEDRAL 


16 


IlisTOKV  OF  Boston  Akchdiocesk 


His  parents,  Con^regationalists,  had  educated  him  fortheministry 
of  that  sect  and  for  two  years  after  his  ordination,  he  was  chaplain 
to  Governor  Hancock.  His  love  of  travel,  prompted  him  to 
j^o  to  Europe  and  he  accordingly  set  sail  for  France  in  1781.  A 
trip  through  England  and  Italy  was  included  in  his  itinerary  and 
for  some  few  years,  after  his  departure,  he  seems  to  have  cherished 
the  strongest  prejudices  against  the  Church.  But  very  providen- 
tially he  arrived  in  Rome  just  atthe  death  of  Blessed  Benedict  Joseph 
Labre.  So  many  wonderful  cures  were  affected  at  the  shrine  of  this 
ser\'ant  of  God  that  Mr.  Thayer,  who,  all  the  while  had  held  tena- 
ciously to  his  Puritan  doctrines,  if  not  to  all  its  prejudices,  was 
filled  with  the  greatest  wonder.  He  had  been  loath  to  admit 
miracles  but  now  that  he  saw  them,  he  believed  and  on  the  25th 
of  May  1783,  publicly  abjured  Protestantism  and  was  baptized. 

He  felt  then  that  it  was  his  mission  to  lay  the  teachings  of  the 
Catholic  religion  before  his  fellow-countrymen,  so  he  entered  the 
Seminary  of  vSt.  Sulpice,  Paris,  where  he  was  ordained,  after  the 
regular  course.  Soon  after  ordination,  he  sailed  for  America  and 
put  himself  at  the  service  of  Bishop  Carroll,  who  very  gladly  appointed 
him  to  the  Boston  mission. 

When  Father  Thayer  came  to  Boston,  its  population  was  18,038. 
Of  these  about  too  were  Catholic. 

M'hile  the  two  French  priests,  who  preceded  Father  Thayer  in 
Boston,  enjoyed  a certain  standing  here.  Father  Thayer,  the  first 
native  pastor  of  the  Catholic  church  in  this  city,  was  especially 
welcome. 

It  may  easily  be  imagined  how  zealously  Father  Thayer,  with 
all  that  fervent  faith  that  was  his,  started  to  enlighten  his  fellow 
countrymen  and  former  co-religionists  on  the  truths  of  the  Catholic 
Church.  One  of  the  public  journals  of  1791  contains  an  invitation 
to  the  public  to  come  to  hear  his  exposition  of  Catholic  doctrines. 
Many  took  advantage  of  this  invitation,  so  that  the  little  church 
on  School  St.  was  regularly  filled  with  listeners,  some  sincere,  others 
curious.  Father  Thayer’s  sermons  dissipated  many  prejudices,  but 
they  also  excited  considerable  controversy  and  after  two  years  of 
active  missionary  work,  during  which  time  he  visited  nearly  every 
town  of  importance  in  Massachusetts  (Salem,  Xewburyport,  Ply- 
mouth, Braintree,  Scituate),  his  love  of  travel  came  back  to  him 
and,  in  1792,  he  sought  permission  to  serve  the  spiritual  needs  of 
Catholics  throughout  the  states.  He  labored  in  Kentucky  for 
some  years,  then  went  to  Europe  where  he  died  in  Limerick,  prob- 
ably before  1817. 


Boston’s  First  Pastor 


7 


Father  Thayer  left  in  his  will  to  his  successor  very  nearly  Sio.coo. 
which  he  had  collected  to  build  a convent  school  for  girls  in  Boston. 
FATHERS  MATIGNON,  CIQUARD  AND  CHEVERUS. 

Before  Father  Thayer  left  Boston,  his  successor,  the  Rev.  Francis 
Matignon  D.  D.  had  been  assigned  to  duty  in  the  same  city.  Father 
Matignon  was  one  of  a group  of  four  very  learned  and  apostolic 
French  priests,  who  had  to  flee  from  France,  during  the  Revolution 
there.  The  other  members  of  this  illustrious  group,  were  the  Rev. 
Ambrose  Marechal,  afterwards  Archbishop  of  Baltimore,  the  Rev. 
Gabriel  Richard,  and  the  Rev.  Francis  Ciquard,  who  was  sent 
by  Bishop  Carroll  to  the  state  of  Maine  to  provide  for  the  spiritual 
needs  of  the  Indians. 

Father  Matignon  was  born  in  Paris  on  the  loth  of  November,  1753. 
As  a 3mung  man, he  decided  to  carry  out  the  longings  of  his  virtuous 
boyhood,  and  become  a priest.  Having  completed  his  theological 
studies,  he  was  ordained  on  the  19th.  of  September  1778,  the  very 
day  of  the  month  and  week  upon  which  he  was  afterwards  to  breathe 
his  last. 

In  1785,  Father  Matignon  received  the  Doctorate  in  Theology  from 
the  Sorbonne  and  soon  became  Professor  of  Divinity,  in  the  College 
of  Navarre.  Here  he  remained  until  the  French  Revolution,  when 
he  had  to  flee  to  England  to  escape  death  at  the  hands  of  the  Terror- 
ists. 

While  in  England,  he  conceived  the  idea  of  offering  himself  to 
Bishop  Carroll,  for  missionary  work  in  the  New  World.  His  offer 
was  gladly  accepted,  and  he  arrived  in  Baltimore,  in  June  1792, 
from  which  place  he  soon  left  for  Boston,  which  was  to  be  the  scene  of 
his  truly  Christlike  labors,  for  the  remainder  of  his  life. 

All,  who  knew  Father  Matignon,  agree  that  he  was  a most  estim- 
able and  saintly  priest,  with  a very  keen  and  delicate  appreci- 
ation of  his  sacred  ministry.  “With  meekness  and  humility,  he  dis- 
armed the  proud;  with  prudence,  learning  and  wisdom,  he  met  the 
captious  and  slanderous,  and  so  gentle  and  so  just  was  his  course, 
that  even  the  censorious  forgot  to  watch  him,  and  the  malicious  were 
too  cunning  to  attack  one  armed  so  strong  in  his  faith.” 

Catholicity  in  Boston,  upon  Father  Matignon’s  arrival,  was  not 
in  a very  flourishing  condition,  while  bigotry  and  prejudice  had,  by 
no  means,  disappeared,  despite  the  heroic  efforts  of  Father  Thayer 
to  drive  them  away. 

Very  quietly  and  unostentatiously.  Father  Matignon  adminis- 
tered to  the  spiritual  needs  of  his  little  congregation.  The  congre- 
gation became  noticeably  larger  from  year  to  year,  until,  in  the  year 


I8 


History  of  I^oston  Archdiockse 


1795,  he  felt  the  need  of  an  assistant.  While  in  England,  he  had 
met  the  Rev.  John  Cheverus,  another  priest,  exiled  like  himself,  from 
France,  and  he  conceived  the  idea  of  writing  him  to  come  to  America. 

He  did  so,  and  received  a favorable  reply.  On  the  3rd  of  October, 

1796,  the  Rev.  John  Lefebvre  Cheverus  arrived  on  a sailing  vessel  in 
Boston  Harbor.  Father  Matignon  immediately  communicated  his 
good  fortune  to  Bishop  Carroll,  who  welcomed  the  precious  news, 
and  gave  full  faculties  to  Father  Cheverus. 

The  spirit  with  which  Father  Cheverus  entered  into  his  new  mis- 
sionary life,  is  best  appreciated  from  his  own  words  to  the  Bishop. 

“ (Send  me  where  you  think  I am  most  needed  without  making 
yourself  anxious  about  the  means  of  supporting  me.  I am  willing 
to  work  with  my  hands,  if  need  be,  and  I believe  I have  strength 
enough  to  do  it.”) 

After  some  months  stay  with  Father  Matignon,  Father  Cheverus, 
in  July  1797,  was  sent  to  Maine  to  administer  to  the  Indians  in  the 
place  of  Father  Ciquard  who,  left  for  other  missions. 

Father  Matignon,  once  more  alone  in  his  charge,  did  much  for 
his  increasing  flock,  besides  visiting  the  Catholics  of  adjacent  towns 
and  villages. 

In  1798,  the  Yellow  Fever  broke  out  in  Boston,  and  to  this  plague 
it  was  principally  due  that  there  were  34  deaths  in  the  small  Catholic 
congregation,  during  that  year.  Father  Matignon  won  the  admir- 
ation of  all  his  townspeople,  by  fearlessly  visiting  and  comforting 
the  fever-stricken  victims.  Father  Cheverus  returned  from  Maine 
to  help  his  dear  friend,  during  this  period  of  sore  affliction. 

In  the  autumn  of  1798,  Father  Matignon  decided  to  writeBishop 
Carroll  for  permission  to  build  a new  church,  as  the  little  chapel  of  the 
Holy  Cross  on  School  St.  was  now  too  small  to  accommodate 
the  congregation. 

Bishop  Carroll  not  only  gave  his  encouragement  to  the  plans 
of  Father  Matignon  but  he  also  decided  to  send  Rev.  James  Romagne, 
lately  arrived  from  France,  to  the  Maine  mission,  and  to  appoint 
Father  Cheverus  an  assistant  to  the  pastor  at  Boston.  This  mani- 
festation of  confidence  and  goodwill  on  the  part  of  the  Bishop 
towards  Father  Matignon  greatly  encouraged  him  and  he  lost  no 
time  in  carrying  out  his  plans.  On  March  31st.  1799,  a meeting 
of  the  parishioners  was  called,  in  the  School  St.  chapel.  A com- 
mittee w'as  appointed  to  consider  the  question  of  a site  and  the 
manner  of  raising  the  necessary  money.  The  members  of  that 
committee  were  Don  Juan  Stoughton,  Spanish  Consul  residing 
in  Boston,  John  Magner,  Michael  Bums,  John  Duggan,  Patrick 


Boston’s  First  Pastor 


19 


Campbell,  Owen  Callaghan,  Edmund  Connor. 

On  Sunday  April  7th.,  the  committee  reported  favorably  on  the 
general  proposition  of  a new  church  and  also  suggested  methods  of 
collecting  money  for  the  same  purpose.  The  subscription  list  for 
the  new  church  began  with  212  persons  subscribing  the  sum  of 
$3,202.00.  In  four  years,  $10,771  had  been  collected.  It  is  esti- 
mated that  there  were  in  the  following  year,  1800,  about  1000  or 
1200  Catholics  in  or  about  Boston. 

This  same  year  are  recorded  54  baptisms  and  9 marriages  in  the 
whole  towm.  On  October  28th,  1799,  sufficient  money  had  been 
received  to  purchase  the  site.  A committee  recommended  the  pur- 
chase of  a lot  on  Franklin  St.  owmed  by  the  Boston  Theatre  Corpo- 
ration. Twenty-five  hundred  dollars  were  paid  for  the  lot  and  it 
w'as  transferred  to  Bishop  Carroll  and  Father  Matignon  as  trustees. 
It  may  be  of  interest  to  note  that  this  same  land  w^as  sold  sixty 
years  afterwards  for  $115,000.  Immediately  after  the  purchase 
of  the  Franklin  St.  lot.  Father  Matignon  sought  subscriptions  for 
a building  fund.  According  to  the  records,  the  members  of  the  congre- 
gation subscribed  $10,771.69 — Catholics  outside  theParish  $1,948.83 
and  Protestants  $3,433.00.  At  the  head  of  the  list  of  non-Catholic 
subscribers  was  the  name  of  John  Adams,  at  that  time  President  of 
the  United  States.  The  numerous  contributions  from  non-Catholics 
is  a sufficient  indication  that  a very  considerable  advance  had  been 
made  in  the  eradication  of  bitter  hostility  towards  the  Church. 
Ground  w'as  broken  on  March  17th,  1800.  Mr.  James  Bulfinch,  wffio 
had  designed  the  State  House  on  Beacon  Hill  and  the  Capitol  at 
Washington,  kindly  volunteered  his  services  as  architect  of  the 
new  church.  He  drew  the  plans  and  superintended  the  entire  work 
gratis.  The  church  was  Ionic  in  design  and  measured  80  feet  long 
and  60  feet  wide  and  fronted  on  wffiat  w^as  then  known  as  Franklin 
Square.  It  had  three  spacious  galleries,  one  on  either  side  and  the 
third  for  the  organ  and  choir.  The  basement  story  w^as  nine  feet 
high  and  of  equal  length  and  breadth  with  the  upper  church.  The 
basement  w^as  of  stone  and  the  superstructure  of  brick,  the  entire 
cost  of  the  building  amounting  to  $20,000.  In  its  time,  it  was  admit- 
ted to  be  one  of  the  finest  structures  in  Boston  and  one  that  very 
much  enhanced  the  beauty,  as  well  as  the  value,  of  the  early  towm. 
In  1803,  the  church  was  completed,  thanks  to  the  loyalty  of  the 
devoted  people  and  to  the  prudence,  zeal  and  indefatigable  labors^ 
of  Father  Matignon  and  his  worthy  assistant.  Father  Cheverus. 
An  altar  piece  representing  the  Crucifixion  of  Our  Lord  was  painted 
by  Lawrence  Sargent  and  given  to  the  Bishop,  for  a very  small  sum. 


20 


History'  of  Boston  Archdiocksk 


ricn.  E.  Masket  Derby  presented  the  bell,  which  is  at  present  in 
use  at  Holvhood  Cemetery,  Brookline.  Other  gifts  were  made 
to  the  new  Cathedral  by  well  disposed  non-Catholics  as  well  as  by 
the  truly  devoted  congregation. 

The  Rev.  Pastor  wrote  to  Bishop  Carroll  announcing  the  joyful 
news  of  the  church’s  completion  and  invited  him  to  come  and  conse- 
crate it  on  wSt.  Michael’s  day.  September  29th,  1803.  The  good 
Bishop  was  especially  pleased  to  come  and,  after  a somewhat  fatigu- 
ing journey  b>'  coach  and  sailing  vessel,  reached  Boston,  shortly 
before  the  day  fixed  for  the  ceremony.  On  the  day  agreed  upon, 
the  new  church  was  dedicated  under  the  title  of  the  Holy  Cross. 
Bishop  Carroll  pontificated,  assisted  by  Fathers  Matignon,  Cheverus 
and  two  other  priests,  whose  names  have  not  come  down  to  us. 
Father  Cheverus,  whom  Father  Matignon,  with  that  most  lovable 
disposition  so  peculiarly  his,  was  wont  to  honor  on  every  special 
occasion,  preached  the  sermon  to  a congregation  that  taxed  the 
church  to  its  utmost  capacity.  In  the  evening  of  the  same  day,  the 
entire  facade  of  the  church  was  resplendent  with  a thousand  lights 
and  the  richly  gilded  cross,  that  surmounted  the  edifice,  was  beau- 
tifully illuminated.  This  was  a day  of  untold  happiness  to  the 
good  French  exiled  priests,  who  had  formed  a deep  abiding  attach- 
ment for  the  faithful  of  Boston  and  now',  that  the  new  church  was 
built,  they  both  gave  themselves  up  entirely  to  the  spiritual  con- 
cerns of  their  ever  increasing  flock.  This  visit  of  Bishop  Carroll, 
to  dedicate  the  new  church  w as  his  second  visit  to  Boston.  He  had 
been  here  before  in  1791,  and  on  that  occasion,  was  entertained  hos- 
pitably, having  been  invited  by  the  Ancient  and  Honorable  Artillery 
to  offer  thanksgiving  at  their  annual  banquet. 

. The  Catholics  in  Boston  and,  in  fact,  throughout  all  New  Eng- 
land, were  increasing  in  number  very  rapidly.  The  Boston  congre- 
gation in  1815  was  estimated  at  about  three  thousand.  The  number 
of  baptisms  and  marriages  increased  very  appreciably  each  year 
from  1805.  There  were  other  towns  and  villages  in  Massachusetts, 
where  Catholics  were  beginning  to  settle  very  early  in  the  i8th  cen- 
tury, notably  Salem,  Newburyport,  Plymouth  and  Braintree.  Sev- 
eral French  and  Irish  families  settled  in  these  towns  and  Fathers 
Matignon  and  Cheverus  visited  them  at  regular  intervals,  every  year. 
In  fact,  every  year.  Father  Cheverus  used  to  go  north  as  far  as 
Damariscotta,  Maine,  where  the  sturdy  Irish  Catholic  Kavanaugh 
family  lived.  The  progress  of  the  Church  in  Boston  was  very  en- 
couraging from  year  to  year,  until  the  city  was  regarded  important 
enough  to  be  constituted  an  Episcopal  See  in  1808. 


BISHOP  CHEVERUS 


22 


History  of  Boston  Archdiocese 


CHAPTER  IV. 

iStiiht  iSritrrntii  HJnlin  Sirfrburr  br  (Cbnirnis,  D.  D. 

IFirat  iBial^up  uf  Suaton.  1802-1023. 

In  the  year  1807,  Bishop  Carroll  reached  the  conclusion,  that  the 
increased  number  of  Catholics  throughout  his  entire  jurisdiction, 
which  still  included  all  the  United  States,  required  the  division  of 
his  Diocese  and  the  appointment  of  bishops  for  different  sections  of 
the  country. 

It  was  accordingly  decided,  to  divide  the  great  Diocese  of  Balti- 
more into  five  dioceses,  inclusive  of  the  latter  See  already  estab- 
lished. These  plans  and  aims  were  respectfully  submitted  to  the 
proper  ecclesiastical  authorities  in  Rome,  and,  in  due  time,  approved. 

The  new  Sees  were  to  be  at  Boston,  New  York,  Philadelphia 
and  Bardstown.  The  choice  of  candidates  to  be  submitted  to  Rome 
for  these  separate  Sees,  was  made  by  Bishop  Carroll,  only  after 
prayerful  consideration.  For  Boston,  he  had  made  up  his  mind 
to  present  the  name  of  Father  Matignon,  but  the  saintly  priest,  who, 
by  every  title  w^as  eminently  qualified,  shrunk  from  so  great  a 
responsibility,  and  strongly  urged  the  appointment  of  his  equally 
worthy  associate.  Father  Cheverus. 

Bishop  Carroll  respected  the  wish  of  Father  Matignon,  and 
Father  Cheverus  was  nominated,  by  Pope  Pius  VII.  April  8th,  1808, 
for  the  newly  erected  Episcopal  See  of  Boston. 

By  the  same  decree,  Sees  were  established  in  New  York,  Phila- 
delphia, and  Bardstown,  and  the  new  Bishops  named.  The  Boston 
Diocese  was  to  include  all  New  England.  Indeed,  Bishop  Carroll 
had  originally  planned  to  include  New  York  in  the  Boston  Diocese, 
but  it  was  made  clear  to  him  that  the  territory  to  be  included  would 
be  far  too  extensive. 

The  Rev.  Luke  Concanen,  a Dominican,  w^ho  w^as  appointed 
first  Bishop  of  New  York,  was  living  in  Rome.  He  w^as  consecrated 
in  the  Holy  City,  and  there  charged  with  the  safe  transmission  to 
Bishop  Carroll,  of  the  documents  establishing  the  other  dioceses. 

During  the  first  decade  of  the  19th.  century,  Europe  was  in 
a very  disturbed  condition,  the  French  Revolution  had  caused 
terrible  havoc,  and  the  reigning  Pontiff,  Pope  Pius  VII.  had  been 
made  prisoner  by  the  Emperor,  Napoleon. 

Because  of  this  troubled  state  in  Europe,  the  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop 


Right  Reverend  John  Lefebvre  de  Cheverus  23 

Concanen,  was  unable  to  leave  the  continent.  He  forwarded  the 
documents  but  they  were  lost,  and  a new  set  had  to  be  made. 

After  a long  and  trying  delay,  the  necessary  decrees  arrived, 
and  the  Rev.  John  Cheverus  D.  D.  was  consecrated  by  Bishop 
Carroll  on  the  Feast  of  All  Saints,  Nov.  ist.  1810,  in  the  Church  of 
St.  Peter,  Baltimore. 

In  the  decree  establishing  the  new  Episcopal  Sees,  the  Diocese 
of  Baltimore,  was  raised  to  an  Archbishopric,  with  Archbishop 
Carroll  as  Metropolitan. 

John  Louis  Lefebvre  de  Cheverus  was  born  in  Mayenne,  France, 
Jan.  28,  1768.  He  was  ordained  priest,  at  the  age  of  twenty-two, 
having  obtained  a dispensation,  on  account  of  his  youth. 

While  pastor  of  a church  in  his  native  city,  the  Revolutionists 
asked  him  to  take  the  infamous  oath,  that  repudiated  legitimate 
authority.  This  he  refused  to  do  and  were  it  not  for  his  fortunate 
escape  from  the  country,  he  would  have  been  put  to  death. 

In  disguise.  Father  Cheverus  fled  to  London,  where,  after  a 
few  months,  he  had  mastered  the  English  language  sufficiently  to 
teach  and  preach  to  a fair- sized  congregation. 

The  new  honor  conferred  upon  Father  Cheverus,  made  no 
alteration,  either  in  his  simple  manner  of  life,  or  in  his  former 
occupations. 

He  insisted  that  his  beloved  confrere.  Father  Matignon,  should 
remain  Rector  of  the  Church  on  Franklin  St.  which,  from  that  time 
on,  was  known  as  the  Holy  Cross  Cathedral.  Not  long  after  his 
consecration.  Bishop  Cheverus  made  a tour  of  his  extensive  Diocese, 
for  the  purpose  of  administering  the  Sacrament  of  Confirmation, 
which  had  not  been  administered,  since  Bishop  Carroll’s  visit  in 
1803. 

In  the  first  visitation,  348  persons  were  confirmed,  of  whom 
128  belonged  to  the  Indian  tribes  of  Maine.  Yearly,  the  Bishop 
repeated  his  visit  to  these  far  away  places,  much  to  the  delight  and 
spiritual  comfort  of  the  inhabitants. 

In  the  year  1810,  there  were  just  three  churches  in  all  New 
England.  The  Cathedral  of  the  Holy  Cross,  Boston,  St.  Patrick’s, 
New  Castle,  Maine,  and  a log  Chapel,  for  the  Indians  at  Pleasant 
Point,  Maine. 

From  1810  to  1820  we  find  the  Bishop  visiting  Salem,  where 
a small  congregation  had  existed,  since  the  time  of  Father  Thayer, 
who  said  his  first  Mass  there  in  1790. 

In  1820  a simple,  humble  structure  was  erected  by  the  Catho- 
lics of  this  flourishing  town,  but  it  was  not  completed  and  beautified 


24 


History  of  !k)STON  Archdiocksk 


until  1832. 

On  May  31,  1817,  Hisho])  Cheverus  ordained  the  Rev.  Dennis 
Ryan,  the  first  priest  to  be  ordained  for  the  Diocese. 

On  the  igth.  of  September  1818,  the  Rev.  Father  Matignon 
died,  regretted  by  the  whole  Diocese  and  by  none  more  than  by  his 
companion,  friend,  and  superior,  Bishop  Cheverus.  Father  Matignon 
had  labored  for  twenty-six  years  in  and  about  Boston,  and  though 
quite  unwell  for  some  time,  before  his  death,  he  omitted  no  duty, 
no  act  of  charity,  that  fell  to  his  lot  to  perform. 

His  life  was  one  of  the  sweetest  simplicity,  loving  all,  serving 
all  with  pleasure,  seeking  above  everything  else  the  enjoyment  that 
comes  to  every  worthy  priest,  who  gives  himself  generously  to 
his  life-work,  a conscience  at  peace  with  God. 

All  Boston  truly  mourned  the  loss  of  their  saintly  pastor.  His 
remains  now  lie  in  the  Catholic  Cemetery,  at  South  Boston.  The 
Bishop  bought  this  cemetery,  soon  after  Father  Matignon’s  death, 
and  dedicated  it  in  Dec.  1818. 

In  the  Cemetery,  he  built  a small  chapel,  and  dedicated  it  to 
St.  Augustine.  This  little  chapel  is  now  the  oldest  Catholic  edifice 
in  Boston.  Within  this  chapel,  is  a white  marble  slab  affixed  to  the 
wall  in  the  Epistle  side  of  the  Altar,  upon  which  is  inscribed  in  gilt 
letters,  the  following  epitaph 

Here  lie  the  remains  of 
Francis  Anthony  Matignon  D.  D. 

And  for  twenty  six  years 
Pastor  of  the  Church  of  the  Holy  Cross 
in  this  town. 

Ob.  September  19,  1818. 

Aet.  65. 

“Beloved  of  God  and  Men,  whose  memory  is  in  benediction’’ — 
Eccl.  XLV  I.  “The  law  of  truth  was  in  his  mouth,  and  iniquity  was 
not  found  on  his  lips:  he  walked  with  me  in  peace,  and  turned  away 
many  from  iniquity:  for  the  lips  of  the  priest  shall  keep  knowledge, 
and  they  shall  seek  the  law  at  his  mouth,  because  he  is  the  Angel 
of  the  Lord  of  Hosts.’’  Mai.  II  6,  7.  Far  from  the  sepulchre  of 
his  fathers,  repose  the  ashes  of  the  good  and  great  Dr.  Matignon: 
but  his  grave  is  not  among  strangers,  for  it  was  and  will  be,  watered 
by  the  tears  of  an  affectionate  flock,  and  his  memory  is  cherished 
by  all  who  value  learning,  honor  genius,  or  love  devotion.  The 
Bishop  and  congregation  have  erected  this  monument  of  their  vene- 
ration and  gratitude. 


R.  L P. 


Right  Reverend  John  Lefebvre  de  Cheverus,  D.D.  25 

As  an  indication  of  the  devotion  of  the  people  to  their  religious 
duties,  it  may  be  of  interest  to  note  that  there  were  800  persons  who 
received  Communion  at  Easter,  1819.  In  the  following  year.  Bishop 
Cheverus  introduced  into  the  Diocese  the  Ursuline  Nuns,  having 
secured  a building  for  them  close  to  the  Cathedral.  Here,  for  six 
years,  they  conducted  a most  successful  academy  for  girls,  and 
then  they  removed  to  much  more  beautiful  and  commodious  quar- 
ters in  Charlestown,  at  the  base  of  Winter  Hill.  The  funds  spoken 
of  in  the  previous  chapter,  that  were  left  by  Father  John  Thayer, 
for  the  introduction  of  a teaching  order  of  sisters,  were  then  made 
to  serA^e  the  noble  purpose  of  their  generous  donor.  It  may  interest 
the  reader  to  know  that  Father  Thayer,  while  living  in  Limerick, 
Ireland,  with  the  family  of  an  Irish  gentleman  named  Ryan,  taught 
and  directed  two  of  Hr.  Ryan’s  daughters  who,  afterwards  came  as 
Ursuline  Nuns  to  Boston  to  teach  in  the  Academy. 

To  appreciate  the  gradual  growth  of  Catholicity  in  the  earliest 
years,  we  here  insert  the  table  of  Baptismal,  Marriage  and  Death 
Records  for  the  first  twenty  years  of  the  19th.  century  from  1800 
to  1820. 


D. 

Baptisms 

Marriages 

Deaths 

1800 

54 

9 

7 

1805 

94 

20 

32 

1810 

15 

18 

1815 

160 

26 

25 

1820 

1 12 

44 

17 

The  death  of  Father  Matignon  placed  many  additional  burdens 
of  parish  life  upon  the  Bishop,  who  cheerfully  and  incessantly  dis- 
charged them  in  addition  to  his  many  arduous  duties  as  the  head 
of  the  Diocese. 

The  arrival  from  New  York  of  a very  zealous  and  energetic 
priest,  the  Rev.  Wm.  Taylor,  was  very  much  appreciated  by  the 
Bishop,  who  in  turn,  showed  his  appreciation,  by  naming  Father 
Taylor  his  Vicar  General. 

Even  then,  despite  this  very  valuable  acquisition,  the  Bishop’s 
health  began  to  decline.  In  1822  it  became  very  clear  that  he  could 
not  live  much  longer,  if  he  were  to  remain  in  Boston.  His  love  for 
Boston  and  its  people,  made  the  thought  of  departure  very  difficult 
to  entertain.  However,  he  yielded  to  the  advice  of  those  who  knew 
him  too  well  to  question  his  loyalty  to  the  good  people  under  his 
charge,  and  he  consented  to  return  to  France.  How  reluctantly,  the 
records  of  that  year  attest.  He  made  his  will,  before  departing, 
and  left  all  his  possessions,  of  no  great  value  from  any  point  of 


26 


History  of  I^oston  Archdiocese 


view,  to  his  successor,  to  the  priests,  friends  and  poor  of  the 
Diocese. 

He  came  to  Boston  a poor  man,  he  chose  to  depart  from  it 
poor,  with  no  other  wealth  than  the  same  trunk  which,  twenty- 
seven  years  before,  he  had  brought  with  him.  He  embarked  from 
New  York,  on  the  ist.  of  October,  1823,  proceeding  to  the  Diocese 
of  Montabau,  France,  of  which,  by  a decree  issued  the  previous 
January,  he  had  become  Bishop.  After  some  years,  he  was  appointed 
Archbishop  of  Bordeaux  and  finally  was  raised  to  the  Cardinalate. 
On  the  20th.  of  July  1836,  he  died,  mourned  by  all  whose  privilege 
it  was  to  know  him  or  his  saintly  life. 

“His  work  in  New  England  covering  twenty-seven  years,  included 
every  form  of  missionary  activity.  He  lived  among  the  Indians, 
mastering  their  dialect ; trudged  on  foot  long  distances,  attending 
scattered  Catholics;  nursed  the  sick;  buried  the  dead  during  two 
yellow  fever  epidemics;  collected  funds  and  helped  to  build  a church 
in  Boston:  was  businessman,  adviser,  peacemaker,  servant,  doctor 
for  his  flock  failing  them  in  no  form  of  helpfulness. 

This  disinterested  devotion  to  humble  duties,  joined  with  ex- 
traordinary tact  gradually  won  the  respect  of  the  prejudiced 
Puritans.  Closer  acquaintance  revealing  Cheverus’s  brilliant 
talents,  wide  learning,  innate  refinement,  transparent  holiness,  and 
Christ-like  Charity  deepened  respect  into-  confidence,  veneration 
and  love.” 


BISHOP  FENWICK 


The  Right  Reverend  Benedict  Joseph  Fenwick,  D.  D. 


29 


CHAPTER  IV. 

ahr  Sitibl  iSriirrntb  lirnridrl  Jlnsrph  iFrmutrk,  D.  D. 

Sisbop  uf  tBnstou,  1B25-1B4B. 

From  the  departure  of  Bishop  Cheverus  to  the  appointment 
in  1825  of  his  successor  the  Rev.  Benedict  Joseph  Fenwick  S.  J., 
by  Pope  Leo  XII,  the  Diocese  was  governed  by  the  Very  Reverend 
William  Taylor,  Vicar-general  under  the  previous  administration. 

Bishop  Fenwick  was  an  American  born  in  Maryland  September 
3rd,  1782,  and  a descendant  of  one  of  the  two  hundred  families  that 
originally  came  over  from  England  under  the  charter  of  Lord  Balti- 
more. When  ten  years  of  age,  Benedict  was  sent  to  the  preparatory 
school  of  the  newly  opened  Jesuit  College  at  Georgetown,  D.  C. 
After  completing  his  course  here,  he  entered  the  Sulpician  Seminary 
at  Baltimore,  where  he  spent  but  one  year.  With  his  brother,  he 
then  entered  the  Novitiate  of  the  Jesuits  and  after  the  usual  course 
of  study  and  teaching  was  ordained  priest  at  the  age  of  26  by  Bishop 
Neale  of  Baltimore.  Soon  after  his  ordination,  he  was  sent  to  New 
York  where  for  eight  years,  together  with  the  Rev.  Anthony  Kohl- 
man  S.  J.,  he  managed  the  affairs  of  the  Diocese,  in  the  absence  of  a 
Bishop,  During  this  time.  Father  Fenwick  occasionally  met  Bishop 
Cheverus,  who  had  been  delegated  by  Archbishop  Carroll  to  admin- 
ister Confirmation  and  dedicate  churches  in  New  York,  its  own 
Bishop  not  having  arrived  for  some  years  after  the  Diocese  was 
created. 

The  second  Bishop  of  Boston  was  consecrated  at  Baltimore 
by  Archbishop  Marechal  November  ist,  1825.  Soon  afterwards, 
he  came  to  Boston  accompanied  by  a convert,  whom  he  had  instructed, 
the  Rev.  V.  H.  Barber.  They  were  formally  welcomed  by  the 
Very  Rev.  William  Taylor,  the  Revs.  Dennis  Ryan  and  Patrick 
Byrne,  the  last  two  having  been  ordained  by  Bishop  Fenwick’s 
predecessor.  Father  Taylor  almost  immediately  left  the  Diocese 
to  join  Bishop  Cheverus  in  France.  In  1828  he  died  at  the  Irish 
College  in  Paris. 

The  prospects  were  not  too  bright  for  the  zealous  and  hard 
working  Bishop.  He  had  only  three  priests  at  his  disposal  to  admin- 
ister to  the  spiritual  needs  of  a rapidly  increasing  flock  throughout 
all  New  England.  Father  Byrne  was  the  only  priest  in  Boston; 
Father  Ryan  still  had  all  Maine  as  a parish,  while  Father  Barber 


History  of  Boston  Akchdiocesf 


30 

was  assigned  to  Xcw  Hampshire,  where,  before  his  conversion,  he 
labored  as  an  Episcopalian  minister 

The  ^ood  Bishop  appealed  to  the  Bishops  of  many  dioceses  here 
and  abroad  for  helpers  but  few  priests  were  available.  Finally,  in 
1-826  the  Rev.  John  Mahoney  came  from  the  South  and  the  Rev. 
C.  D.  French,  a recent  convert,  came  from  New  York.  Both  priests 
were  cordially  welcomed,  the  former  being  sent  to  care  for  the 
Catholics  of  Salem,  the  latter  to  help  Fr.  Ryan  in  Maine.  In  1828 
the  Rev.  Robert  D.  Woodley  came  and  labored  in  Rhode  Island 
and  Connecticut  for  a few  years,  ultimately  joining  the  Jesuits. 

Every  few  years  the  Bishop  paid  a visit  to  the  Indian  Settle- 
ments of  the  northern  New  England  States  and  in  1835  them 
a French  missionary. 

The  year  1831  is  eventful  in  the  history  of  the  Diocese,  be- 
cause of  the  establishment  of  a seminary,  an  humble  and  unpreten- 
tious one,  it  is  true,  in  the  Bishop’s  own  house.  The  Bishop  was 
the  teacher,  in  fact,  the  whole  faculty,  for  the  first  students  of  this 
unique  school.  His  talents  and  education  were  of  a superior  kind 
and  he  found  no  difficulty  in  teaching  the  entire  curriculum. 
In  the  course  of  time,  five  students  were  ordained  from  this  sem- 
inary and  in  the  light  of  their  achievements  in  their  long  missionary 
careers,  the  most  illustrious  seat  of  learning  might  have  been 
justly  proud  to  call  them  its  alumni.  These  first  five  priests,  or- 
dained from  1827  to  1830  by  Bishop  Fenwick  in  Boston  were  the 
Rev.  James  Fitton,  Frs.  Wiley,  Smith,  William  Tyler  and  Thomas 
O’Flaherty,  more  familiarly  known  in  the  history  of  the  Diocese 
as  Dr.  O’Flaherty. 

The  fame  of  this  pioneer  seminary  soon  spread,  the  worthiness 
of  its  students  and  the  zeal  of  its  priests  became  evident  to  all 
and  soon  more  candidates  applied  for  admission  to  the  school  than 
could  be  easily  accommodated.  As  a solution  of  the  difficulty. 
Bishop  Fenwick  sent  most  of  them  to  the  great  seminaries  at 
Montreal,  Paris,  Rome  and  Baltimore.  The  two  immediate  suc- 
cessors of  Bishop  Fenwick  were  among  those  sent  to  Montreal  and 
Paris. 

It  became  apparent  to  the  Bishop,  soon  after  his  arrival  in 
Boston,  that  the  Ursuline  Sisters  could  not  be  expected  to  do  ef- 
fective work  as  teachers  unless  more  spacious  quarters  were  fur- 
nished them,  so  he  bought  a very  desirable  estate,  mentioned  in  a 
previous  chapter,  in  Charlestown.  To  their  new  home  the  Sisters 
moved  July  17th  1826. 

By  the  year  1827  the  congregation  of  Boston  had  grown  to 


The  Right  Reverend  Benedict  Joseph  Fenwick,  D.  D.  31 

such  proportions  that  the  Cathedral  itself  had  to  be  enlarged.  This 
was  done  by  extending  it  by  an  addition  of  forty  feet  in  the  length 
and  seventy-two  feet  in  the  width,  making  the  reconstructed 
Cathedral  120  feet  long  by  72  feet  in  its  widest  part.  This  reno- 
vation gave  better  accommodations  in  the  basement  for  a school, 
which,  by  this  time,  had  become  a real  necessity.  The  young 
seminarians  were  the  teachers  in  this  Cathedral  school.  Tn  the 
course  of  years,  they  graduated  many  who  afterwards  became 
brilliant  and  zealous  defenders  of  the  Faith. 

In  1829  there  were  no  less  than  7040  Catholics  in  Boston. 
There  were  536  baptisms  during  the  sa  me  year.  In  all  New  England, 
the  number  of  Catholics  was  estimated  at  about  14,000.  To 
provide  for  these  there  were  only  8 priests.  Sixteen  churches  had 
been  built  or  bought,  not  including  many  public  halls  used  for 
service  on  Sundays. 

Bishop  Fenwick  was  a firm  believer  in  the  power  of  the  press. 
He  felt  the  need  of  a Catholic  journal  in  his  day  to  present  Catholic 
teaching  in  its  proper  light  before  the  rather  prejudiced  non-Cath- 
olics  and  to  defend  himself,  his  clergy  and  the  Church  against  the 
countless  slanders  and  misrepresentations  that  were  being  uttered 
by  the  Protestant  pulpit  and  public  press  of  the  city.  On  Sep- 
tember 5 th,  1829,  a weekly  Catholic  paper  “The  Jesuit” 
under  the  auspices  of  the  Bishop  made  its  first  appearance.  This 
weekly  paper  excited  no  little  comment  in  non-Catholic  circles  in 
and  about  Boston.  It  was  very  ably  edited  by  Bishop  Fenwick  and 
the  Rev.  Dr.  O’ Flaherty.  Its  articles  were  theological  and  con- 
troversial in  tone.  There  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  the  zeal- 
ous editors  had  hoped  not  simply  to  correct  false  impressions  con- 
cerning the  Church  in  the  minds  of  those  outside  the  Church  but 
to  win  many  to  the  true  fold.  These  hopes  were  not  fully  realized 
despite  the  efforts  of  the  very  creditably  edited  “Jesuit.”  In  the 
course  of  years  “The  Jesuit”  changed  both  its  name  and  form 
several  times  until  finally  its  editors  called  it  “The  Pilot,”  a name 
which  it  has  borne  very  honorably  for  over  seventy  years. 

In  the  year  1832,  the  Sisters  of  Charity  from  Emmittsburg 
came  to  Boston  and  established  a free  school  for  girls  on  Hamilton 
St.,  Fort  Hill.  These  noble  women  have,  since  the  year  of  their 
advent  into  Boston,  extended  their  sphere  of  holy  usefulness  to  the 
care  of  asylums,  orphanages  and  hospitals.  Words  can  never  tell 
with  any  show  of  adequacy  the  incalculable  good  done  by  these 
truly  noble  Sisters  for  suffering,  neglected  and  destitute  children. 
In  the  olden  days,  at  the  appearance  of  these  good  Sisters  upon  the 


32 


History  of  Boston  Akchdiocksk 


streets  with  their  procession  of  orphans,  every  Catholic  man  un- 
covered his  head  and  prayed  God  to  bless  them  and  their  holy 
cause.  Xo  less  revered  are  they  to-day  for  theirs  is  God’s  thrice 
blessed  work.  These  noble  women  were  among  the  first  of  the 
many  sisterhoods  that  have  come  into  this  Diocese  and  have  given 
their  invaluable  services  for  the  cause  of  Christian  education  and 
the  relief  of  the  poor. 

The  progress  of  Catholicity  was  very  marked  each  year  and 
gratifying  in  its  loyalty.  But  this  very  rapid  increase  in  numbers 
gave  considerable  concern  to  quite  a large  element  of  narrow-minded 
Bostonians,  who  could  see  in  the  arrival  by  birth  or  immigration 
of  every  new  Catholic  only  an  enemy  of  law  and  order  and  a subject 
of  the  much-hated  Pope  of  Rome.  .The  Catholicwas  supposed  to 
have  all  his  reasoning  done  for  him  within  the  walls  of  the  Vatican, 
not  being  free  to  become  a really  loyal  citizen,  though  he  might 
personally  like  to.  This  feeling  of  hostility  to  Catholics  was  partic- 
ular!}’ strong  where  the  Catholics  happened  to  be  Irish  or  of  Irish 
parentage.  The  Colonists,  when  they  threw  off  the  yoke  of 
England,  very  willingly  parted  with  much  that  linked  them  with 
the  mother  country,  but  they  never  seemed  disposed  to  part  alto- 
gether with  the  traditional  English  dislike,  not  to  express  it  more 
strongly,  for  the  Irish-Catholic. 

The  first  real  outbreak  in  Boston  occurred  in  1829,  when  a 
misguided  mob,  for  three  nights  in  succession,  attacked  and  stoned 
the  humble  dwellings  of  the  Irish  Catholics  living  in  the  Fort  Hill 
district.  At  this  period  and  for  some  years  after,  hostility  to 
Catholics  was  very  virulent  throughout  the  Xew  England  States 
and  in  Xew  York  as  well.  Xo  doubt,  the  most  unfortunate  as  well 
as  one  of  the  most  shameful  attacks  was  that  made  on  the  E'rsuline 
Academy  situated  on  Mount  Benedict,  Charlestown,  on  the  night 
of  August  nth,  1834. 

The  introduction  of  the  Ursuline  Sisters  into  this  Diocese  in 
1820  was  the  cause  of  endless  complaint  and  unwarranted  insinu- 
ation from  their  evil-minded  enemies  and  the  fact  that  many  of 
the  most  cidtured  parents  of  Boston  and  elsewhere  had  chosen 
to  send  their  daughters  to  this  Academy  for  their  instruction  and 
education,  seems  only  to  have  provoked  the  more  these  self-con- 
stituted but  not  genuine  defenders  of  American  institutions.  It  is 
not  to  be  wondered  at,  then,  that  they  made  much  capital  of  the 
falsehoods  and  wild  dreams  of  a certain  Rebecca  Reed  who,  be- 
cause she  was  obliged  to  leave  the  convent,  having  shown  a decided 
disinclination  to  obey  even  in  the  simplest  matters,  made  all  sorts 


The  Right  Reverend  Benedict  Joseph  Fenwick,  D.  D.  33 

of  groundless  charges  against  the  Sisters.  These  base  accusations 
were  very  readily  taken  up  and  soon  the  air  of  Charlestown  and 
Boston  was  filled  with  threats  of  destruction  for  the  convent.  To 
prove  conclusively  how  utterly  without  foundation  were  the  sus- 
picions aroused,  the  Superior  of  the  Academy  re(:[useted  the  vSelect- 
men  to  investigate  the  whole  institution,  school  and  convent. 
This  the  Selectmen  did  on  August  nth,  1834,  only  to  completely 
vindicate  the  Sisters.  The  report  of  the  selectmen  could  hardly 
have  been  published  immediately,  and  that  very  night  a mob  at- 
tacked the  Academy  and  set  fire  to  it,  nothing  remaining  in  the 
morning  but  ruins. 

The  liberty-loving  citizens  of  Charlestown  and  Boston  regretted 
this  unfortunate  occurrence.  An  indignation  meeting  was  held 
in  Faneuil  Hall,  to  which  many  of  Boston’s  most  distinguished 
citizens  came  to  express  their  contempt  for  such  evidences  of 
bigotry.  Cambridge  held  a similar  meeting  and  Governor  Davis 
offered  a reward  of  S500  for  the  detection  or  capture  of  the  guilty 
parties.  Some  thirteen  men  were  indicted  but  not  all  were  brought 
to  trial.  The  accused  were  not  all  adjudged  guilty,  nor  very  se- 
verely dealt  with  by  the  Courts.  Bishop  Fenwick  himself,  in  his 
great  charity,  headed  a petition  to  save  one  youthful  member  of 
the  party  from  life  imprisonment.  The  ruins  remained  undisturbed 
until  1877,  when  they  were  cleared  away.  Within  recent  years, 
the  hill  has  been  dredged  away,  but  if  we  except  two  or  three 
small  wooden  sheds,  the  land  is  still  unoccupied,  in  a district  wh^re 
every  other  foot  of  available  land  has  been  turned  to  some  proi- 
itable  purpose.  The  Sisters  moved  to  Roxbury,  where  they  made 
an  unsuccessful  attempt  to  re-establish  themselves.  But  so  con- 
tinuously were  they  molested  by  the  bigots  that  they  closed  their 
convent  and  left  Boston,  returning  to  Canada  and  elsewhere. 

In  the  meantime  the  Church  of  Boston  was  growing  apace  and 
Ihe  Bishop  found  great  difficulty  in  providing  priests  to  administer 
to  the  spiritual  needs  of  all.  Apart  from  the  few  priests  ordained 
for  the  Diocese  every  year  or  so,  there  was  an  occasional  mission- 
ary priest  from  other  paits  adopted  by  the  Bishop.  The  following 
gives  the  census  of  the  Catholics  of  the  Diocese  in  1835,  ten  years 
after  Bishop  Fenwick’s  arrival.  It  must  be  remembered  that  the 
Diocese  still  included  all  New  England. 

Catholics  Priests  Churches 

28,975  ^4  8 and  3 building. 

3,150  6 6 “ 

387 


Massachusetts 

Maine 

New  Hampshire 


2 


2 


2 


34 


History  of  Boston  Archdiocese 


V ermont 

5,620 

2 

I 

Rhode  Island 

1 ,230 

I 

3 

Connecticut 

720 

2 

2 

Total 

40,082 

27 

22  and  5 building. 

In  1842  was  held  the  First  Synod  of  the  Diocese.  It  followed 
the  first  general  Spiritual  Retreat  of  the  priests,  which  ended  August 
2 1 St,  1842.  This  retreat  was  conducted  by  the  Rev.  John  McElroy 
S.  J.  who  afterwards  became  very  famous  in  this  Diocese  and  else- 
where. He  was  the  first  pastor  of  the  Church  of  the  Immaculate 
Conception,  Boston,  and  gathered  funds  for  the  erection  of  Boston 
College,  this  latter  institution  opening  in  1864. 

The  full  Roman  Pontifical  was  carried  out  at  this  Synod  with 
the  Bishop  celebrating  the  Mass  of  the  Holy  Ghost  and  all  the  clergy 
receiving  the  Blessed  Sacrament.  The  Very  Reverend  William 
Tyler,  who  had  previously  been  appointed  Vicar-General  of  the 
Diocese  was  Promoter  of  the  Synod, the  Rev.  Jeremiah  O’Callaghan, 
a man  of  unusual  talents.  Procurator  and  the  Rev.  John  B.  Fitz- 
patrick, Secretary. 

Some  of  the  faithful  still  living  may  recall  with  grateful  appre- 
ciation the  names  of  those  pioneer  priests,  who  attended  the  Synod 
and  who,  at  that  time  and  for  some  years  after,  did  noble,  self-sacri- 
ficing work  for  the  promotion  of  God’s  glory  in  this  great  Diocese. 
The  following  priests  attended  the  Synod. 

Rt.  Rev.  J.  B.  Fenwick  D.  D. 


V.  Rev.  William  Tyler, 

Rev.  James  Fitton, 

William  Ivers, 

Edward  Murphy, 
Patrick  Flood, 

John  Strain, 

Thomas  Lynch, 

Denis  Ryan, 

T.  J.  O’Flaherty. 

John  B.  McMahon, 
Ja*:.  T.  McDermott, 
John  Brady, 

M.  Roloff,  ' 

James  O’Reilh', 
Jeremiah  O’Callaghan, 


Rev.  Richard  Hardy, 

John  O’Beirne, 
William  Wiley, 

John  B.  Daly, 
Thomas  O’Sullivan, 
John  B.  Fitzpatrick, 
Terence  Fitzsimmons, 
Adolph  Williamson, 
Patrick  Canavan, 
Patrick  Byrne, 
Michael  Lynch, 

P.  O’Beirne, 

John  Corry, 

John  D.  Brady, 

James  Coneray, 


This  Svno.l  did  much  constructive  work  in  the  matter  of  dio- 


Right  Reverend  Benedict  Joseph  Fenwick,  D.  D.  35 

cesan  legislation  to  meet  the  changed  conditions  consequent  upon 
the  rapid  growth  of  the  Church.  The  increase  in  the  number  of 
priests  from  three  in  1825,  when  Bishop  Fenwick  came  to  Boston, 
to  over  thirty  in  1842  was  very  marked  indeed  but  it  was  not  by 
any  means  sufficient  to  meet  fully  the  demands  that  came  from 
every  corner  of  New  England  for  spiritual  ministrations. 

Boston,  about  this  time,  had  nine  churchesbuilt  or  in  thecourse 
of  construction; — The  Cathedral;  St.  Augustine’s,  vSouth  Boston; 
St.  Mary’s,  Charlestown;  St.  Mary’s,  Endicott  St.,  North  End; 
St.  Patrick’s,  Northampton  St.;  Trinity  Church,  Suffolk  St.,  for 
the  German  Catholics;  St.  John’s,  Moon  St.;  and  Sts.  Peter  and 
Paul,  South  Boston.  There  were  two  churches  in  Lowell,  St. 
Patrick’s  and  St.  Peter’s;  one  in  Cambridge,  St.John’s;  one  in  Quincy 
St.  Mary’s;  one  in  Waltham,  St.  Mary’s;  one  in  Watertown,  St. 
Patrick’s;  in  Newburyport,  The  Immaculate  Conception.  The 
Church  in  Salem,  as  previously  mentioned,  was  built  as  early  as 
1821  though  not  completed  for  some  years  after.  A pastor  resided 
in  most  of  these  parishes  but  was  obliged  to  look  out  for  the  spiritual 
needs  of  all  Catholics  in  the  surrounding  countiy.  It  was  no  uncom- 
mon experience  in  these  days  for  a priest  to  go  forty  or  fifty  miles 
on  a sick-call. 

In  1843,  Bishop  Fenwick  decided  that  he  should  rec{uest  the 
Holy  See  to  form  one  section  of  his  very  extensive  territory  into  a 
new  and  separate  diocese.  He  accordingly  petitioned  the  Holy  See 
through  the  Fifth  Pro\dncial  Council  of  Baltimore  to  declare  Con- 
necticut and  Rhode  Island  a separate  diocese.  This  request  was 
granted  and  the  Very  Rev.  William  Tyler,  Vicar-General  of  Boston 
Diocese,  became  the  First  Bishop  of  Connecticut  and  Rhode  Island, 
with  his  See  at  Haitfoid.  He  was  consecrated  March  17th,  1844. 

The  number  of  baptisms  in  Boston  in  1844  v'as  1600.  It  is 
estimated  that  there  were  53,000  Catholics  in  the  whole  State  of 
Massachusetts  in  1845.  Unfortunately,  most  of  the  immigrants 
settled  in  the  large  cities  and  especially  in  Boston.  As  many,  who 
came  here  especially  from  Ireland,  were  an  agricultural  people, 
of  course,  within  the  limitations  set  by  tyrannical  land-lordism, 
they  doubtless  would  have  succeeded  and  have  progressed  more 
satisfactorily  had  they  taken  up  farming  and  a\'oided  the  incon- 
veniences and  evils  of  crowded  city  life.  Bishop  Fenwick  himself 
saw,  with  deep  regret,  the  vast  majority  of  the  newcomers  settling 
down  int  heCity  of  Boston  andheurged  them,  with  but  little  success, 
to  leave  the  large  cities  and  settle  in  suburban  places.  In  fact,  the 
Bishop  established  an  extensive  fertile  town,  about  40  miles  above 


36 


History  or  Boston  Archdiockse 


Bani^orin  Maine,  which  was  called  Benedicta,  with  the  hope  of  induc- 
ing many  to  settle  there.  Some  settled  there  and  succeeded  but  the 
])lan  was  not  enthusiastically  received  and  eventually  was  lost 
sight  of. 

Nearly  twenty  years  had  now  elapsed  since  the  Rev.  Benedict 
Joseph  Fenwick  became  Bishop  of  Boston.  He  had  worked  with 
an  energy  and  fidelity  seldom  if  ever  surpassed  in  the  his’cory  of  the 
American  F^piscopate.  He  was  a man  of  exceptional  powers  of  mind 
and  body,  deeply  attached  to  his  genuinely  Catholic  people.  He 
traveled  through  every  state  in  New  England  over  and  over  |again 
administering  the  Sacrament  of  Confirmation  to  Indian  and  white 
man,  native  and  immigrant.  He  gave  the  first  impulse  to  Catholic 
higher  education  by  the  establishment  of  Holy  Cross  College.  He 
Icved  to  do  the  simple  every  day  work  of  the  parish  priest  and  could 
as  readily  and  with  perfect  ease  defend,  what  was  universally 
accorded  him,  his  reputation  as  an  eminent  scholar. 

But  all  this  ceaseless  activity  had  begun  to  show  its  effect  on 
the  hitherto  robust  frame  of  Bishop  Fenwick  and  in  1844,  yielding 
to  advice,  he  petitioned  the  Holy  See  for  a Coadjutor-bishop.  To 
this  position  was  appointed  the  Rev.  John  B.  Fitzpatrick,  a young 
native  priest,  who  was,  at  that  time,  less  than  four  years  ordained. 
The  wisdom  of  this  happy  choice  will  appear  in  the  following  chapter. 

Bishop  Fenwick  was  now  thoroughly  worn  out.  He  had  sought 
a return  to  health  in  his  native  Maryland  but  without  success. 
Returning  to  Boston  he  died  on  the  nth  of  August  1846.  He  was 
buried  with  all  possible  solemnity  by  his  priests  and  people  who 
deeply  loved  him.  His  body  was  taken  to  the  cemetery  of  the 
Jesuit  college  of  the  Holy  Cross,  recently  established  in  1843 
the  Bishop  himself  in  Worcester,  where  it  now  rests  beneath  a simple 
tablet  upon  which  is  inscribed  a Latin  epitaph  of  which  the  follow- 
ing is  a translation. 


Right  Reverend  Benedict  Joseph  Fenwick,  D.D.  37 


To  The 
Memory 
And  In  Honor 
Of  The  Remains  Of 
Benedict  Joseph  Fenwick 
Who,  Magnanimously  Despising 
Fortune  and  Worldly  Honors, 
Enrolled  Himself  In  His  Youth 
In  the  Society  of  Jesus 
In  The  42D  Year  Of  His  Age, 

He  Was  Appointed  Bishop  of  Boston, 
By  Leo  The  XIL 
He  Erected  And  Endowed 
The  College  Of  The  Holy  Cross, 
At  Worcester,  Where,  At  His  Desire 
His  Body  Now  Lies. 

Endeared  To  All  By  His 
Kindness,  Justice,  and  Good  Works 
He  Died,  August  10,  1846, 

Aged  63  Years,  10  Months 
And  17  Days. 

Farewell  Beloved  Bishop, 

Be  Mindful  Of  Thy  Children. 


BISHOP  FITZPATRICK 


Right  Reverend  John  B.  Fitzpatrick,  D.D. 


CHAPTER  V. 

Striht  ffipurrrni  3iilin  iFUz:patrirk,  D.  D. 

aljirJi  Sislynp  of  Saatnn,  1B4B-18BB. 

As  previously  noted,  the  Reverend  John  B.  Fitzpatrick  was 
consecrated  Coadjutor  to  Bishop  Fenwick  March  24,  1844.  Upon 
the  death  of  the  latter,  he  succeeded  to  the  See  of  Boston.  Bishop 
Fitzpatrick  was  born  of  Irish  parents  in  Boston  on  Devonshire 
Street  in  1812.  His  father  was  a prosperous  tailor  and  a member 
of  the  Charitable  Irish  Society.  As  a boy.  Father  Fitzpatrick 
attended  the  Boston  public  schools  graduating  as  an  honor  boy  from 
the  Boston  Latin  School  in  1829.  Bishop  Fenwick  , who  had  noted 
the  young  man’s  genuine  and  consistent  piety  as  well  as  his  except- 
ional intellectual  powers,  sent  him  to  the  Seminary  at  Montreal, 
where  he  spent  eight  years  as  a student  and  teacher.  At  the  age  of 
twenty-five  he  was  sent  to  the  Sulpician  Seminary  in  Paris.  In  the 
summer  of  1840  at  the  age  of  twenty-eight  he  was  ordained  to  the 
priest-hood  and  returned  to  Boston  the  following  November.  His 
course  of  preparation  for  the  ministry  had  been  a long  one  but  one 
that  equipped  the  very  zealous  young  priest  for  exceptional  work. 
In  the  first  year  of  his  priesthood.  Father  Fitzpatrick  was  an  assist- 
ant at  the  Cathedral  and  at  St.  Mary’s,  Boston,  and  then  received 
an  appointment  as  pastor  of  St.John’s,  East  Cambridge,  where  he 
succeeded  in  creating  a splendid  parish  spirit  and  reconciled  some 
discordant  elements. 

In  1844  Bishop  Fenwick’s  poor  health  required  him  to  relin- 
quish many  of  the  difficult  but  always  cheerfully  accepted  burdens 
of  his  office  and  so  he  sought  the  assistance  of  a Coadjutor.  His  choice, 
ratified  by  the  Holy  See,  was  the  young  Father  Fitzpatrick,  not 
yet  four  years  a priest.  Father  Fitzpatirck  was  consecrated  titular 
Bishop  of  Callipolis  and  Coadjutor  of  Boston  at  Georgetown,  D.  C. 
March  24,  1844.  Upon  his  return  to  Boston,  he  took  up  his  lesidence 
with  Bishop  Fenwick  at  the  Cathedral  Rectory.  The  latter’s  con- 
tinuedillness placed  upon  the  shoulders  of  the  new  Coadjutor-Bishop 
all  the  work  of  the  still  veiy  extensive  Diocese.  He  traveled  through 
Massachusetts,  Maine,  New  Hampshire  and  Vermont  repeatedly, 
administering  the  Sacrament  of  Confirmation  to  thousands  and 
dedicating  new  churches  and  chapels  that  were  being  built  by  de- 
voted Catholics  in  almost  every  large  town. 


40 


History  ok  I^oston  Archdiocese 


The  purchase  of  land  for  a Catholic  church  or  rectory  during 
the  early  part  of  the  last  century,  and  indeed,  it  is  true  to  some  extent 
even  now,  in  many  of  the  towns  and  cities,  was  a very  difficult  mat- 
ter. In  many  cases,  the  history  of  our  parishes  shows  that  the  land 
necessary  for  church  purposes  was  usually  secured  through  the  agency 
or  kind  offices  of  fair-minded  non-Catholics. 

At  the  time  of  the  death  of  Bishop  Fenwick  in  1846,  Bishop 
Fitzpatrick  had  already  l.)ecome  very  widely  and  favorably  known. 
His  sermons  were  remarkable  for  their  great  erudition  and  for  their 
brilliant  and  forceful  style.  • vSunday  after  Sunday,  the  late  Hass  at 
the  old  Franklin  Street  Cathedral  was  attended  by  a congregation 
that  filled  the  church  to  the  very  doors,  all  eager  to  hear  their  young 
and  eloquent  Bishop  preach  the  Word  of  God  with  the  faith  and 
fervor  of  a St.  Chrysostom.  In  1850,  the  See  of  New  York  became 
an  Archbishopric,  including,  among  others,  Boston  and  Hartford 
as  suffragan  Sees. 

About  this  time  a great  number  of  Irish  immigrants  began  to 
pour  into  the  New  England  States.  They  were  driven  from  Ireland 
by  ceaseless  tyrannyandby  the  unfortunate  famine  of  1847  ^-nd  1849. 
This  extraordinary  influx  of  the  so-called  “foreign  element”  again 
aroused  the  “defenders”  of  our  institutions  and  they  protested  as 
loudly  and  as  vehemently  as  they  could  against  the  “intruders”. 
Societies  of  men  and  women  were  formed  to  combat  the  evils  feared 
from  the  sudden  arrival  on  our  shores  of  so  many  Catholics  and 
especially  Irish-Catholics.  The  Know-nothing  Party  was  estab- 
lished about  this  time  throughout  the  country.  Its  aims  were,  for 
all  practical  purposes,  about  the  same  as  the  aims  of  the  shameless 
A.  P.  A.  movement  of  a few  years  back. 

On  July  4,  1854,  a Catholic  church  in  the  course  of  construction 
in  Dorchester  was  blown  up  by  Knownothings  and  it  became 
necessary  for  the  civil  authorities  to  give  additional  protection  to 
property  held  by  the  church  for  religious  or  school  purposes.  Many 
unscrupulous  politicians,  who  preferred  office  to  honor,  made  much 
of  this  anti-Catholic  movement  and  succeeded  in  electing  themselves 
to  important  offices  of  the  city  and  state.  The  state  legislature,  a few 
years  before  the  Civil  War,  was  obviously  well  filled  with  members 
of  the  Know-nothing  party  for  it  voted  into  existence  an  infamously 
insulting  committee  to  investigate  the  reported  evils  in  Convents 
and  Catholic  institutions.  They  saw  nothing  and  heard  nothing  but 
what  was  truly  Christian  and  edifying.  But  the  character  of  some 
members  of  this  committee,  when  made  known  to  the  public  after 
the  investigation,  was  shown  to  be  quite  unworthy  of  a private 


Right  Reverend.  John  B.  Fitzpatrick,  D.D.  41 

citizen,  not  to  speak  of  a legislator. 

Bishop  Fitzpatrick,  about  this  time,  was  obliged  to  protest  to 
the  Boston  School  Committee  against  certain  regulations  that  were 
manifestly  unfair  to  Catholic  pupils.  These  regulations  were  re- 
pealed. When  the  unfortunate  Civil  War  broke  out  the  Know-noth- 
ings, with  a few  exceptions,  disappeared.  Their  specialty  was  the 
defence  of  the  countr}^  against  imaginary  enemies;  the  real  enemies 
the}'  hadn’t  the  courage  to  meet.  Catholics,  to  the  man,  offered 
themselves  willing!}',  when  the  call  for  troops  came.  Their  deeds, 
the  histor}'  of  our  nation  and  the  monuments  of  a grateful  people 
attest.  They  performed  their  duty  readily,  thinking  it  nothing  extra- 
ordinary and  nothing  strange  to  give  up  all,  property,  home  and  life 
in  the  defense  of  their  country.  It  was  ever  thus  and  when  a Cath- 
olic is  not  a true  patriot  we  may  doubt  whether  he  is  a true  Catholic. 

Before  the  Civil  War,  quite  a number  of  charitable  and  educa- 
tional institutions  were  introduced  into  the  Diocese  by  Bishop  Fitz- 
patrick. Father  George  F.  Haskins,  a convert  to  the  Faith,  founded 
the  House  of  the  Angel  Guardian  in  1851  and  in  1858  erected  the 
splendid  buildings  which  it  now  occupies  on  Vernon  Street, 
Roxbur}'.  In  1859  the  Jesuit  Fathers  were  established  on  Harrison 
Avenue  and  were  planning  to  found  the  present  Boston  College. 
New  parishes  were  established  in  South  Boston,  East  Boston,  Law- 
rence, Salem  and  Worcester.  Ever}'where  were  evidences  of  great 
activit}'  among  Catholics. 

Two  events  of  unusual  importance  during  the  first  decade  of 
Bishop  Fitzpatrick’s  administration  should  here  be  noted.  The 
State  of  Vermont  was  separated  from  the  Boston  Diocese  and  made 
a diocese  in  1853.  The  Right  Reverend  L.  de  Goesbriand  D.  D.  was 
its  first  Bishop  and  was  consecrated  October  30,  1853  with  his  See 
at  Burlington.  In  1855  the  State  of  Maine  became  a diocese  with 
Right  Reverend  D.  W.  Bacon  D.  D.  as  its  first  Bishop.  He  was 
consecrated  April  22,  1855  and  took  for  his  See  the  city  of  Portland. 

The  loss  of  many  a brave  son  of  the  Faith,  during  the  war, 
worked  considerable  hardship  on  the  families  at  home.  The 
panic  that  followed  soon  after  the  close  of  hostilities  brought 
distress  to  the  people  at  large,  and  Bishop  Fitzpatrick’s  tender  heart 
felt  the  keenest  sympathy  for  all.  Indeed,  it  is  no  exaggeration  to 
say  that  his  earnest  solicitude  for  his  people  aggravated  the  sickness 
which  rather  prematurely  caused  his  death.  He  had  also  at  this  time 
to  face  the  question  of  building  anew  cathedral,  the  old  one  now  being 
in  the  heart  of  the  business  section.  This  was  a task  which  he  did 
not  relish,  because  he  loved  the  Franklin  Street  Cathedral  dearly 


History  of  Boston  Archdiocese 


and  the  thought  of  leaving  it  or  selling  it  was  a very  sad  one.  How- 
ev’er,  the  progress  of  religion  called  for  the  change  and  he  proceeded 
to  select  a suitable  site.  This  was  not  an  easy  task.  Considerable 
thought  was  given  to  the  question  of  location  in  view  of  the  future 
develo]jment  of  the  city.  It  is  a matter  of  record  that  more  than 
one  site  was  seriously  thought  of  before  the  final  choice  was  made. 
It  seems  that  prior  to  the  purchase  of  the  present  location  very 
energetic  efforts  had  been  made  to  secure  the  land  on  Boylston 
Street,  near  the  corner  of  Tremont  Street,  where  the  old  Public 
Library  stood  and  where  now  stands  the  Colonial  Building.  The 
price  asked  for  this  lot  was  exorbitant  and  the  Bishop  had  to  look 
elsewhere. 

In  1859  an  estate  owned  by  John  D.and  M.  Williams,  merchants, 
and  situated  between  Union  Park  and  Malden  Streets  was  found  to 
be  available.  This  place  was  ultimately  decided  upon  and  bought. 
At  that  time,  the  selection  was  regarded  as  a happy  one,  as  it  was 
just  in  the  midst  of  the  finest  residential  section  of  the  city.  The 
lot  measured  a little  over  an  acre.  This  purchase  in  i860  was  fol- 
lowed by  the  sale  of  the  Franklin  Street  Cathedral  for  one  hundred 
and  fifteen  thousand  dollars.  It  has  always  been  to  many  a matter 
of  deep  regret  that  the  old  Cathedral  was  sold  and  it  may  be  easily 
conceived  that  extreme  necessity  alone  forced  Bishop  Fitzpatrick 
to  sell  this  grand  and  venerable  monument  to  the  faith  of  the  pion- 
eer Catholics  of  Boston.  In  1862,  the  Bishop,  with  his  household, 
moved  into  the  house  standing  at  the  corner  of  Union  Park  and 
Washington  Streets  and  now  occupied  by  Mr.  Nicholas  Williams. 
Here  after  a long  illness  extending  over  some  few  years  Bishop  Fitz- 
patrick died  February  13,  1866. 

There  are  still  living  quite  a number  who  remember  Bishop  Fitz- 
patrick as  Bishop  of  Boston.  He  was  about  five  feet  ten  inches  in 
height,  as  erect  as  a soldier,  with  a countenance  radiating  the  high- 
est intelligence.  A rare  scholar  gifted  by  God  with  exceptional  nat- 
ural powers,  a born  leader  as  well  as  an  appointed  one  amongst  men, 
he  was  at  the  same  time  as  simple  and  as  unaffected  as  the  humblest 
child  of  the  Church.  During  his  life  as  priest  and  bishop,  he  met 
many  of  the  most  prominent  men  of  his  day.  That  they  were  the 
gainers  by  their  acquaintance  with  him  is  evident  from  the  large 
number  of  prominent  non-Catholics  who  entered  the  Church  at  that 
time.  Among  those  who  became  Catholics  then  or  a little  later 
we  find  members  of  some  of  Boston’s  distinguished  families,  the 
Misses  Charlotte,  Matilda  and  Henrietta  Dana,  Coolidge  Shaw, 
Rev.  Edward  Welch  S.  J.,  Mr.  Shurtleff,  Miss  Quincy,  Dr.  Metcalf, 


The  Right  Reverend  John  B,  Fitzpatrick,  D.  D. 


43 


Mr.  Henry  L.  Richards  and  many  more  to  whom  fortunately  the 
grace  of  conversion  was  given. 

After  the  completion  of  the  new  Cathedral,  the  remains  of  the 
Bishop  were  placed  in  the  crypt  under  the  main  altar.  That  one 
element,  because  of  which  the  name  of  Bishop  Fitzpatrick  will  glways- 
be  very  affectionately  remembered,  was  not  any  conspicuous  achieve- 
ment duiing  his  life  as  bishop  or  priest,  and  they  were  not  a few,  but 
rather  his  charming  personality.  All,  who  knew  him,  loved  him 
with  the  affection  children  have  for  a good  and  noble  father.  To 
all  he  was  “Good  Bishop  John.”  A more  formal  title  he  might  have 
had  but  not  a truer  one,  or  one  more  expressive. 


ARCHBISHOP  WILLIAMS 


Most  Reverend  John  Joseph  W illiams,  D.D.  45 


CHAPTER  VI. 

fHiiat  ISrurrmii  3Jiibn  3Jnsr:|.tli  HltUiants,  D.  D. 

If  mirth  Isisbnp  anh  Ifirst  Arrbliisbnp  nf  Unritmi,  IBBE-lSllf. 

The  Most  Reverend  John  Joseph  VTlliams  D.  D.  was  born  of 
Irish  parents  in  Boston  April  27,  1822,  while  Boston  was  still  a town 
and  the  Rt.  Rev.  John  Cheverus,  Bishop  of  the  Diocese.  As  a mere 
child,  he  went  to  the  public  primary  school  of  the  Fort  Hill  district 
and  when  a little  over  five  years  of  age  was  sent  to  the  newh"  opened 
Cathedral  Day-School  established  by  Bishop  Fenwick,  in  the  base- 
ment of  the  Cathedral.  Here  he  was  under  instruction  until  1833, 
when  his  parents,  following  the  advice  of  the  Bishop,  sent  him  to 
Montreal,  to  the  Sulpician  Seminary.  In  1841  Bishop  Fenwick  sent 
him  to  Paris  to  prepare  for  the  priesthood.  After  the  usual  four 
years’  course  of  theological  study  and  Seminary  training.  Father 
Williams  was  ordained  May  16,  1845,  by  the  celebrated  Archbishop 
Affre,  who  some  few  r^ears  afterwards  was  assassinated  by  the  Insur- 
gents of  Paris.  Returning  to  Boston,  Father  Williams  was  assigned 
to  the  Cathedral.  Bishop  Fenwick  and  his  Coadjutor,  Bishop  Fitz- 
patrick, were  then  living  at  the  Cathedral  Rectory.  For  ten  years 
Father  Williams  was  stationed  here,  for  a while  an  assistant  and 
finally  rector. 

In  1857  he  became  pastor  of  St.  James  Church  then  on  Albany 
St.  His  efforts  for  the  people  of  this  parish  were  those  of  a con- 
scientious, painstaking  priest  of  God.  Each  of  the  nine  years  spent 
in  their  midst  was  remarkable  for  some  special  work  having  for  its 
sole  purpose  the  sanctification  of  his  flock.  In  1861  the  first  Con- 
ference of  the  St.  Vincent  de  Paul’s  Society  to  be  established  in 
New  England  was  introduced  into  St.  James  Paiish  by  Father  Wil- 
liams. Besides  the  honor  of  being  pastor.  Father  Williams  was  ap- 
pointed Vicar-General  of  the  diocese.  This  office  entailed  an  exception- 
al amount  of  additional  labors  at  the  time  because  of  Bishop  Fitzpat- 
rick’s long  period  of  sickness,  and  his  repeated  absence  from  home 
in  search  of  health.  The  need  of  a Coadjutor  became  apparent  in 
1866  and  after  consultation.  Bishop  Fitzpatrick  selected,  among 
others.  Father  Williams.  The  choice  of  the  latter  was  ratified  by 
the  Holy  Father,  Pope  Gregor}^  XVI,  and  Vicar-General  Williams 
was  consecrated  March  nth,  1866,  Bishop  of  Boston,  Bishop  Fitz- 
patrick’s death  having  occurred  the  previous  month.  The  consecra- 


PRESENT  CATHEDRAL 


‘*1  loir'll' 


Most  Reverend  John  Joseph  Williams,  D.D.  47 

tion  took  place  in  St.  James  Church,  Archbishop  McCloskey  of  New 
York  being  the  Celebrant  and  the  provincial  bishops  assisting. 

Bishop  Williams  at  the  very  beginning  of  his  admiinistration 
appointed  the  Rev.  P.  F.  Lyndon  his  Vicar-General  and  then  pro- 
ceeded to  carry  out  the  plans  for  the  new  Cathedral. 

When  the  Franklin  St.  Church  was  abandoned,  the  Melodeon, 
on  Washington  St.  was  hired  for  use  on  Sundays  and  there  the  reg- 
ular Sunday  services  were  held  for  some  time,  wFile  old  St.  Vincent’s 
Church  on  Purchase  St.  and  a chapel  in  the  West  End  were  attended 
by  the  priests  from  the  Episcopal  residence.  This  temiporary  arrange- 
ment was  brought  to  a close  in  the  Fall  of  1862,  when  the  church  on 
the  corner  of  Washington  and  Castle  Sts.  together  with  what  is  now 
St.  Joseph’sChurch  in  the  West  End  were  bought  from  the  Unitarians. 
The  former  became  the  Pro-Cathedral,  and  St.  Joseph’s  and  St. 
Vincent’s  separate  parishes.  In  the  summer  of  1866  a meeting  of 
the  principal  Catholics  of  Boston  was  held  to  devise  means  for  the 
erection  of  the  new  Cathedral.  A large  subscription  was  taken  and 
such  good  will  manifested  that  the  work  was  begun  at  once.  Ground 
was  broken  April  27th,  1866.  The  corner-stone  was  laid  on  Sunday 
September  15th,  1867,  Archbishop  McCloskey  of  New  York  preach- 
ing on  that  occasion. 

The  plans  for  our  Cathedral  were  drawn  by  the  celebrated 
architect,  Mr.  P.  C.  Keely  of  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.  and  had  been  accepted 
by  Bishop  Fitzpatrick  some  few  years  before  his  death.  The  entire 
building  measures  over  46,000  square  feet  and  covers  somewhat 
over  an  acre  of  ground.  In  this  respect,  it  takes  precedence  of  some 
celebrated  Cathedrals  of  Europe.  The  style  is  early  English  Gothic, 
cruciform,  with  transept,  nave,  aisle,  and  clerestory,  the  latter 
supported  by  two  rows  of  clustered  bronzed  metal  pillars.  The 
length  of  the  church,  including  the  Chapel  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament 
in  the  northeast  corner,  is  364  feet.  The  length  of  nave,  exclusive 
of  chapel,  300  feet;  width  at  transept,  170  feet;  width  of  main  body 
of  church  90  feet;  height  to  elegant  wooden  ceiling,  95  feet.  The  two 
main  towers  in  front  were,  according  to  the  original  plans,  to  be 
surmounted  by  spires,  the  one  on  the  southwest  corner  to  be  300  feet 
in  height  and  the  other  on  the  northwest  corner  to  be  200  feet.  An 
idea  of  the  spaciousness  of  this  grand  structure  may  be  had  when 
we  realize  that  it  can  seat  3,000  persons.  The  great  organ  in  the 
gallery  was  regarded  as  a most  remarkable  instrument,  when  it  was 
built.  With  one  exception,  it  was  declared  to  be  the  largest  organ 
in  America.  Certainly  throughout  our  vast  country  there  are  few 
if  any  organs  ooday  more  remarkable  for  sweetness,  mellowness 


48 


History  of  I^oston  Archdiocese 


and  fullness  of  tone.  The  arch,  which  separates  the  spacious  front 
vestibule  from  the  church  is  built  of  brick  taken  from  the  ruins  of 
the  Ursuline  Academy  on  Mount  Benedict,  Charlestown.  Under 
the  chancel  is  the  chapel  for  the  children,  where  Mass  is  said  at  the 
altar  of  the  old  Franklin  St.  Cathedral,  transferred  to  this  place 
when  the  latter  church  was  sold.  In  the  rear  of  the  altar  is  the  crypt 
destined  for  the  bodies  of  the  deceased  bishops  of  the  Diocese. 

M'hile  the  erection  of  the  new  Cathedral  gave  Bishop  Mdlliams 
no  little  concern  and  required  much  of  his  valuable  time  yet  the 
greater  claims  of  the  entire  Diocese  were  dutifully  recognized  and 
faithfully  seen  to.  New  parishes  were  being  formed,  with  astonish- 
ing rapidity,  in  very  nearly  every  town  in  the  state  and  only  the 
strongest  constitution  could  have  borne  the  tremendcms  tasks 
which  fell  to  the  lot  of  the  energetic  Bishop,  as  a matter  of  every 
day  duty.  Alone,  he  administered  the  Sacrament  of  Confirmation 
to  thousands  every  year.  He  dedicated  every  new  church,  attended 
to  every  one  of  the  countless  details  of  a now  great  and  flourishing 
Diocese. 

In  1870,  upon  the  recommendation  of  the  Bishop,  the  Spring- 
field  Diocese  was  cut  off  from  his  jurisdiction  and  made  a separate 
See.  The  Carney  Hospital,  established  under  his  predecessor  in 
1863,  through  the  generosity  of  Andrew  Carney,  and  St.  Elizabeth’s 
Hospital,  both  developed  wonderfully  through  his  encouragement. 
The  House  of  the  Good  Shepherd  was  established  here  in  1867. 
The  Little  Sisters  of  the  Poor  opened  a home  for  the  aged  in  Boston 
in  1870.  In  close  succession,  the  following  important  events  oc- 
curied.  The  Redemptorist  Fathers,  though  established  in  the 
late  sixties,  built  a church  in  1871  in  the  Roxbury  District.  Par- 
ishes for  the  French  immigrants  from  Canada  and  for  Portuguese 
and  Italians  were  established  in  the  early  seventies  and  placed 
under  priests  of  their  respective  nationalities.  Various  Religious 
Orders  were  invited  into  the  Diocese  to  help  along  parochial  and 
educational  lines.  It  is  not  within  the  scope  of  this  brief  historical 
sketch  to  note  all  of  the  evidences  of  Church  extension  at  this  time, 
but  a word  should  be  said  of  the  truly  wonderful  progress  made  by 
the  German  and  French  Catholic  congregations  in  the  Diocese 
Throughout  the  entire  Diocese  the  French  Canadian  people 
have  built  magnificent  churches  and  stately  school  houses  and 
have  manifested  their  great  faith  in  countless  ways.  We  look’ 
forward  hopefulh'  to  the  Italian  Catholics  following  their  good 
example. 

In  1870  Bishop  Williams  went  to  Rome  to  attend  the  Vatican 


Most  Reverend  John  Joseph  Williams,  D.D.  49 


Council.  While  there  he  resided  at  the  American  College.  His 
impressions  of  the  great  world-gathering  of  ecclesiastics  have  never 
been  published.  There  were  few  subjects  upon  which,  in  his  later 
years,  he  spoke  more  willingly  and  more  interestingly  than  upon 
the  Vatican  Council  and  its  various  sessions.  He  had  had  some 
experiences  in  the  workings  of  these  great  councils  of  the  Church, 
for,  within  six  months  after  his  consecration,  he  was  called  to  par- 
ticipate in  the  deliberations  of  the  Second  Plenary  Council  of  Bal- 
timore. 

During  the  month  of  November,  1873,  a three  days’  festival 
was  held  in  Music  Hall  in  honor  of  the  Jubilee  of  Pope  Pius  IX. 
This  festival  was  under  the  direction  of  the  Catholic  Union  formed 
earlier  that  same  year..  The  year  1875  brought  with  it  a very 
important  change  in  the  status  of  the  Church  in  New  England. 
For  twenty- five  years  or  since  1850,  all  New  England  belonged  to 
the  ecclesiastical  province  of  New  York  and  now,  by  a special  de- 
cree, Boston  was  made  an  Archdiocese  with  Bishop  Williams  as 
its  Metropolitan.  The  conferring  of  the  Sacred  Pallium,  one  of 
the  grandest  ceremcmies  Boston  had  ever  witnessed  up  to  that 
time,  occurred  on  Ma}^  22nd  of  this  sarnie  year.  Cardinal  McCloskey, 
Archbishop  of  New  York,  officiated.  Bishop  McNierney  of  Albany 
celebrated  the  Mass  and  Bishop  Goesbriand  of  Burlington  preached. 
There  were  present  at  the  Mass  the  Papal  Ablegate,  Archbishop 
Roncetti,  and  Count  Marofoschi  of  the  Papal  Guards.  During 
this  same  eventful  year,  1875,  the  Cathedral  was  dedicated  on 
December  8th  and  the  episcopal  residence.  Union  Park  Street,  was 
presented  to  the  new  Archbishop  by  the  priests  of  the  Diocese. 

The  Sanctuary  Choir  established  in  1870  under  the  supervision 
of  the  Rev.  Sherwood  Elealy  and  placed  under  the  able  direction 
of  Mile.  Gabrielle  de  la  Motte  w^as  one  of  the  impressive  features  at 
all  the  services  in  the  Cathedral.  The  choir  of  mixed  voices,  num- 
bering about  100  voices  was  in  the  early  days  and  is  to-day  con- 
spicuous for  the  excellence  of  its  chorus  work. 

As  Rhode  Island  had  previously  become  a diocese  separated 
from  the  See  of  Hartford,  there  were  in  the  province  of  the  Boston 
Archdiocese  in  1875  fives  uffragan  Sees.  Later,  in  1884,  Manchester 
became  an  episcopal  See  and  in  1905  Fall  River  w^as  also  detached 
from  the  See  of  Providence,  so  that  to-day  in  the  Boston  Province 
there  are  seven  suffragan  Sees.  This  additional  honor  for  Boston 
brought  wdth  it,  as  do  all  such  honors,  increased  responsibilities.  It 
had  now'  to  lead  in  the  march  of  Catholicity  through  New  England. 
It  had  to  point  out  the  line  along  wffiich  our  Puritan  strongholds 


5° 


History  of  Boston  Archdiocese 


must  inevitably  be  won  back  to  the  faith  of  those  early  forefathers 
who,  before  the  apostasy  of  Imgland,  rejoiced  in  the  name  Catholic. 

Archbishop  Williams  rose  fully  equipped  for  this  additional 
burden.  The  first  need,  as  he  saw  it,  was  the  erection  of  a Semi- 
nary, for  the  education  of  young  men  for  the  priesthood.  This  he 
started  early  in  the  8o’s.  The  first  students  were  enrolled  in  this 
new  institution  in  1884.  Thus,  provisions  were  made  for  the  proper 
instruction  of  those  who  were  to  be  the  shepherds  of  the  faithful  not 
only  in  this  Diocese  but  throughout  the  entire  Province.  Few 
seminaries  have,  in  their  careers,  borne  better  fruit  than  this  noble 
institution,  during  its  comparatively  brief  existence.  Its  progress 
was  a matter  of  deep  concern  to  Archbishop  Williams.  He  visited 
the  professors  and  students  often,  encouraging  all  to  greater  effort. 
As  the  years  went  by  and  His  Grace  advanced  in  age,  there  was  one 
time  each  year,  when  his  cup  of  happiness  seemed  full  indeed  and 
that  was  on  the  Feast  of  the  Priesthood,  when,  in  the  midst  of  all 
his  priests,  he  with  them,  before  the  tabernacle  of  the  Lord,  re- 
newed his  ordination  promises. 

Before  the  erection  of  St.  John’s  Seminary,  there  occurred  in 
188  T the  death  of  the  Rev.  James  Fitton.  Even  the  briefest  sketch 
of  the  history  of  this  Diocese  would  be  woefully  wanting  in  a most 
important  part,  if  it  were  to  pass  over  unnoticed  the  carreer  of  this 
truly  devoted  priest  of  God.  It  is  over  a century  back,  when  that 
name  first  appeared  in  the  account  of  the  early  Church  of  Boston. 
He  was  born  in  the  town  of  Boston  when  Frs.  Matignon  and  Cheverus 
were  the  parish  priests  of  all  New  England.  He  \vas  the  tutor  of  Arch- 
bishop Williams,  when,  as  a child,  the  latter  attended  the  Cathedral 
School.  He  was  the  first  priest  to  be  ordained  by  Bishop  Fenwick 
in  the  original  Seminary  founded  in  the  episcopal  residence.  He 
preached  and  catechized  in  practically  every  tovrn  and  village  in 
New  England  from  the  Canadian  line  to  Bridgeport,  Connecticut. 
He  established  more  parishes  than  it  would  be  convenient  to  enum- 
erate. He  wrote  much  in  the  defense  of  his  holy  religion  and  distri- 
buted tracts  for  the  enlightenment  of  Catholic  and  non-Catholic 
as  well.  He  founded  St.  James  Seminary.  Worcester,  this  after- 
wards forming  the  basis  of  the  present  Holy  Cross  College.  For 
over  fift}'  years,  he  labored  for  God’s  holy  cause  with  unsurpassed 
energy,  with  a zeal  truly  apostolic.  He  was  a staunch  advocate 
of  Catholic  Edu:ation  and  established  schools  in  Hartford,  Newport, 
Worcester  and  Eiast  Boston  and  when  he  died,  after  having  been 
twenty-sixy  ears  pastor  of  the  church  of  the  Most  Holy  Redeemer, 
East  Boston,  the  greatest  missionary  in  the  history  of  New  England 


Most  Reverend  John  Joseph  Williams,  D.  D. 


51 


had  gone  to  his  reward. 

In  1884  Archbishop  Williams  took  a very  prominent  part  in 
the  deliberations  of  the  Third  Plenary  Council  of  Baltimore.  His  ad- 
vice was  eagerly  sought  and  his  judgment  highly  prized.  It  is  said  of 
His  Grace  that  at  all  the  sessions,  which  he  attended  with  his 
accustomed  regularity,  he  listened  most  attentively  to  all  that  was 
said  and,  before  the  final  settlement  of  each  question,  could  give 
a very  succinct  and  clear  appreciation  of  the  matter  under  consider- 
ation . Hence  few  weighty  questions  were  finally  disposed  of  without 
calling  upon  the  Archbishop  to  say  the  last  word. 

The  Silver  Jubilee  of  Archbishop  Williams’  episcopate  occurred 
in  1891.  This  celebration  brought  out  a very  remarkable  mani- 
festation of  esteem  and  loyalty  from  both  priests  and  people.  On 
this  occasion,  the  clergy  of  the  diocese  presented  His  Grace  with 
a splendid  bust  of  himself  by  Samuel  Kitson.  The  Catholic  Union 
held  a public  reception  in  his  honor.  It  was  at  this  reception  that 
Archbishop  Williams  praised  his  people  for  the  patience  and  good 
sense  manifested  by  them  during  the  attempted  persecution  of 
Catholics  by  the  A.  P.  A.  Society.  This  same  year,  the  Rt.  Rev. 
John  Brady  of  Amesbury  was  chosen  as  Auxiliary-bishop  to  lighten 
the  burdens  of  the  now  aged  prelate. 

On  the  1 6th  of  May  1895  was  celebrated  the  fiftieth  anniver- 
saiy  of  the  Archbishop’s  ordination  to  the  priesthood.  Not  only 
his  own  priests  and  people  but  the  entire  Ameiican  hierarchy  united 
to  do  him  honor  upon  this  solemn  event  in  an  already  tiuly  blessed 
career.  There  were  present  at  the  Solemn  Pontifical  Mass  of 
Thanksgiving,  Cardinal  Gibbons,  Archbishop  Satolli,  the  Apostolic 
Delegate,  and  many  of  the  Archbishops  and  Bishops  of  the  country. 
The  late  Bishop  Bradley  of  Manchester  preached  the  sermon  and 
the  late  Bishop  de  Goesbriand  of  Burlington  persented  a magnificent 
chalice  to  the  Jubilarian  as  the  gift  of  the  Suffragan  Bishops.  That 
same  day  a complimentary  banquet  was  tendered  His  Grace  in 
Music  Hall.  The  Governor  of  the  State  and  representatives  of  the 
city  were  present  together  with  a most  distinguished  group  of 
ecclesiastics  and  la3"men.  Miss  Katherine  Conwa}"  wrote  a beautiful 
ode  appropriate  to  the  occasion. 

The  eightieth  birthday  of  His  Grace,  that  took  place  in  April 
27,  1902,  was  celebrated  rather  quiethy  as  the  venerable  Archbishop 
felt  himself  quite  une([ual  to  the  strain  and  excitement  accompan\"- 
ing  the  public  manifestations  of  the  lo\"alt\'  and  good-will  of  his 
people.  He  had  every  reason  to  feel  that  they  loved  him  and  in  his 
last  years  sought  onl^^  their  prayers.  However,  his  devoted  priests. 


BISHOP  BRADY 

AUXILIARY  BISOHPOF  BOSTON 


Most  Reverend  John  Joseph  Williams,  D.D. 


53 


with  the  Rt.  Rev.  William  Byrne  D.  D.,  who  had  been  his  faithful 
Vicar-General  for  many  years,  as  their  representative,  tendered 
His  Grace  a complimentary  banquet.  On  that  occasion,  the  now 
aged  prelate  expressed  his  deep  and  sincere  affection  for  his  priests. 
He  applied  the  words  of  St.  Peter’s  address  to  Our  Lord  to  them 
and  said, — “The  Lord  knows  that  I love  you — Such  is  the  supreme 
affection  in  which  I live  and  in  which  I hope  to  die.’’ 

The  great  woik  to  which  Archbishop  Williams  had  given  him- 
self and  all  his  powers  so  generously  for  close  upon  fifty  years  began 
to  tell  upon  him.  His  sight  began  to  fail,  his  strength  to  diminish. 
He  was  no  longer  able  to  bear  the  burdens  of  the  day  though  he 
was  quite  willing  to  do  so.  This  condition  prompted  His  Grace  to 
apply  to  the  Holy  See  for  a Coadjutor  with  the  right  of  succession. 
On  January  26th,  1906,  Pope  PiusX  appointed  the  Rt.  Rev.  Wil- 
liam H.  O’Connell,  D.  D.  Bishop  of  Portland,  Coadjutor-Archbishop 
of  Boston. 

There  are  very  many  other  events  and  works  of  no  small  im- 
portance in  the  history  of  the  Diocese  to  which  we  cannot  refer 
within  the  limits  of  this  intentionally  brief  sketch.  A most  interest- 
ing account  might  be  given,  if  space  would  permit,  of  the  work  of 
the  Diocesan  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Faith.  Since  1898 
first  under  the  Rev.  Joseph  V.  Tracy  D.D.  and  for  the  past  six  years 
under  the  Rev.  James  Anthony  Walsh  Ap.  M.,  this  society  has 
spread  throughout  the  entire  Diocese  and  has  collected  more  for  the 
foreign  missions  than  any  similar  society  in  the  other  dioceses  of 
America.  There  is  also  the  Bureau  of  Catholic  Charities  that  has 
been  caring  for  countless  homeless  children  for  some  years  past 
under  the  immediate  direction  of  the  Rev.  Joseph  G.  Anderson  and 
the  Rev.  Maurice  J.  O’Connor  D.  D.  Here  also  might  be  mentioned 
a work  dear  to  the  ardibishop’s  heart  the  establishment  of  the 
Working  Girls’  Home. 

It  would  require  more  than  one  large  volume  to  do  very  scant  jus- 
tice to  the  long  and  illustriouscareer  of  Archbishop  Williams.  Onemiore 
event  and  our  chapter  must  close.  On  Friday  evening  August  30, 
1907,  at  9 o’clock  precisely,  the  Most  Reverend  John  Joseph  Williams 
D.  D.,  First  Archbishop  of  Boston  breathed  his  last  and  gave  his 
holy  soul  to  God  Whom  he  served  so  long  and  so  faithfully.  At  his 
bedside  during  the  last  hours  of  his  life  was  the  Most  Reverend 
Archbishop  O’Connell  together  with  the  priests  of  the  Cathedral 
and  a few  of  the  older  priests  of  the  immediate  vicinity  who  had 
called  to  inquire  concerning  the  health  of  their  beloved  leader.  The 
bells  of  the  city  that  night  announced  to  all  the  people  the  death 


54 


History  of  Boston  Archdiocese 


of  the  venerable  prelate. 

Boston  mourned  her  great  loss  for  he  was  her  “first  citizen,”  a 
native  son,  who  never  lost  his  deep  abiding  affection  for  his  native 
city.  From  Sunday  until  Wednesday  September  4th  over  100,000 
persons  came  to  view  his  remains  that  were  lying  in  state  in  the 
Cathedral.  On  Wednesday  morning  with  all  the  impressive  splen- 
dor and  most  solemn  ceremonial  of  the  Church  the  body  of  the  Arch- 
bishop was  laid  to  rest  in  the  crypt  under  the  main  altar  of  the  Cathe 
dral.  His  Eminence.  Cardinal  Gibbons,  celebrated  the  Solemn 
Requiem  Mass  in  the  presence  of  many  of  the  hierarchy  and  a vast 
congregation  of  sorrowing  people.  At  the  clo.se  of  the  Mass,  Arch- 
bishop O’Connell  preached  the  eulogy, — “a  noble  and  sincere  tri- 
bute to  the  life  and  works  of  a most  illustrious  servant  of  God.” 
Later,  perhaps,  some  one  m^ay  write  the  life  of  Boston’s  First  Arch- 
bishop. Xo  historian  or  biographer  ever  had  a worthier  subject. 
His  career  was  a manifestation  of  the  noblest  traits  of  human  nature 
sanctified  by  a most  holy  life.  Archbishop  Williams  was  naturally 
conservative  and  the  responsibilities  of  his  exalted  office  rather 
increased  than  diminished  his  conservatism.  His  judgment  in  all 
matters  was  both  quick  and  accurate.  This  judgment  when 
expressed,  was  seldom,  if  ever,  elaborately  set  forth.  A plain  “yes” 
or  “no”  usually  sufficed  to  acquaint  you  with  his  position  on  most 
matters.  His  was  an  analytic  mind  that  could,  by  a certain  marve- 
lous intuition,  reduce  every  proposition  presented  to  him  to  its 
simplest  terms.  He  was  eminently  practical  and  very  little,  if  at 
all,  given  to  speculative  reasoning.  He  had  a very  kind  nature, 
despite  his  severe  demeanor.  He  dearly  loved  little  children  and 
in  his  latter  years  frequently  remarked  with  pleasure  instances 
of  childish  pranks  that  had  come  within  his  observation.  This 
kind  disposition  was  extended  even  to  animals.  Indeed,  he  often 
mentioned  with  keen  satisfaction,  how  much  better  dumb  animals 
fare  now  than  in  his  younger  days.  During  all  his  life,  he  was 
strikingly  simple.  His  personal  friends  were,  by  preference,  very 
few.  During  the  last  decade  of  his  long  life,  when  the  weight  of 
years  was  growing  heav}'  upon  his  shoulders  and  when  he  was 
gradually  withdrawing  from  active  participation  in  public  affairs, 
his  naturally  stern  nature  began  to  mellow,  and  in  proportion  to  his 
retirement  from  the  busy  world  into  his  quiet  and  seldom  interrupted 
communion  with  God,  daily  association  with  Him  became  anever  in- 
creasing inspiration.  His  truly  Christian  spirit  was  shown  in  this, 
that  his  joy  became  more  manifested  as  his  soul  became  less  absorbed 
in  the  things  of  the  world  and  more  rapt  in  the  company  of  God. 


/•A 


ARCHBISHOP  O’CONNELL 


MOST  REVEREND  WILLIAM  HENRY  O’CONNELL,  D.  D.  57 


CHAPTER  VII. 

must  iSmrrniJ  IStUmm  ©’(Cunnrll,  0.  3. 

§pr0n&  Arrltbtsltn;!  nf  iBoatan. 

Our  present  beloved  Archbishop  O’Connell,  since  Jan.  26th, 
1906,  Coadjutor  to  the  Most  Reverend  John  J.  Williams,  succeeded 
to  the  Arch-episcopal  See  of  Boston  on  the  death  of  the  latter, 
August  30,  1907,  His  Grace,  Archbishop  O’Connell  was  born  in 
Lowell,  Massachusetts,  on  the  Feast  of  the  Immaculate  Conception, 
December  8,  1859.  a boy  he  attended  the  public  schools  of  his 
native  city.  In  his  sixteenth  year  he  went  to  St.  Charles  College, 
Mar}  land,  where  he  remained  for  two  years.  In  the  Fall  of  1878 
he  entered  Boston  College  graduating  with  honors  in  1881.  The 
following  Autumn,  the  late  Archbishop  Vhlliams  awarded  the  young 
man  a scholarship  in  the  American  College,  Rome,  whither  he 
went  to  study  for  the  priesthood. 

On  June  8,  1884,  the  future  Archbishop  was  ordained  to  the 
Holy  Priesthood.  The  first  appointment  of  Father  O’Connell,  upon 
his  return,  was  as  curate  at  St.  Joseph’s  Church,  Medford,  After 
a little  over  a year  in  Medford,  Father  O’Connell  was  transferred 
to  St.  Joseph’s  Church,  Boston,  where  he  labored  assiduously  as  an 
assistant  until  his  appointment  in  November,  1895,  upon  the  rec- 
ommendation of  his  superiors,  to  the  position  of  Rector  of  the 
American  College,  Rome.  As  Rector  of  the  American  College 
Monsignor  O’Connell,  for  the  honor  of  Domestic  Prelate  was  ac- 
corded him  by  Pope  Leo  Thirteenth  on  June  9,  1897,  made  a very 
enviable  record.  The  College  increased  greatly  in  members,  the 
structure  itself  was  thoroughly  renovated  and  a new  villa  with  a 
superb  house  and  eighteen  acres  of  beautifully  laid  out  grounds 
was  purchased  by  him  from^  Prince  Orsini.  The  intellectual  stand- 
ing of  the  American  College  among  the  many  national  colleges  of 
the  Eternal  City  was  greatly  enhanced,  under  his  encouraging 
guidance. 

In  1901  when  the  See  of  Portland,  Me.,  became  vacant.  Pope 
Leo  Thirteenth  was  pleased  to  show  his  appreciation  of  Monsignor 
O’Connell’s  successful  career  at  the  American  College  b}^  appointing 
him  the  successor  of  the  late  Bishop  Healy. 

On  the  19th  of  May,  1901,  in  the  presence  of  a most  distin- 
guished gathering  of  ecclesiastics  and  laymen,  and  with  the  stu- 


History  of  Boston  Archdiocese 


58 

dents  of  the  college  assisting,  the  Rt.  Reverend  William  H.  O’Con- 
nell, 1).  D.,  was  consecrated  Bishop  by  Cardinal  Satolli. 

In  June  Bishop  O’Connell  returned  to  America  and  took  pos- 
session of  his  Diocese  of  Portland  on  the  Fourth  of  July.  As  Bishop 
of  Portland  he  renovated  the  Cathedral,  reformed  the  Church 
music  of  the  Diocese,  established  a Workingmen’s  Club  for  the 
dock  laborers  of  the  city  and  reduced  the  diocesan  debt  \ ery  ap- 
preciably. In  January  1905  our  present  Holy  Father,  Pope  Pius 
Tenth,  named  the  Bishop  of  Portland  an  Assistant  at  the  Pontifical 
Throne,  an  exceptional  honor  for  so  young  a prelate. 

At  the  close  of  the  famous  conference  of  Russian  and  Japanese 
peace  envoys  at  Portsmouth,  Xew  Hampshire,  in  the  summer  of 
1905,  Bishop  O’Connell  was  chosen  by  our  Holy  Father  Pope  Pius 
Tenth  as  Envoy  Extraordinary  of  the  Holy  See  to  Japan  to  con- 
gratulate the  Emperor  of  Japan  upon  the  restoration  of  peace  and 
to  secure  certain  reasonable  concessions  from  the  Japanese  gov- 
ernment for  the  Catholic  missionaries  in  Japan.  On  this  mission, 
the  Bishop  was  accompanied  by  the  Reverend  Dr.  Patrick  J.  Sup- 
ple of  Boston  and  the  Ver}^  Reverend  Charles  M.  Collins  of  Portland. 
The  mission  was  eminently  successful  and  is  now  bearing  fruit. 
The  Emperor  of  Japan  was  pleased  to  show  his  appreciation  of  the 
Sovereign  Pontiff’s  gracious  compliment  by  conferring  on  the  Rt. 
Reverend  Envoy  the  First  Class  and  Grand  Cordon  of  the  Order 
of  the  Sacred  Treasury.  Other  honors  were  paid  to  him  and  to  his 
secretaries  as  well. 

The  Rt.  Reverend  Envo}^  Extraordinary  returned  to  this 
country  by  way  of  Rome,  where  he  was  most  enthusiastically 
commended  by  the  Holy  Father,  Pope  Pius  Tenth  on  the  success  of 
his  mission  to  the  Mikado.  As  a proof  of  the  Holy  See’s  sincere 
appreciation  of  this  very  notable  event,  the  Holy  Father  on  Jan- 
uary twenty-sixth,  1906,  nominated  Bishop  O’Connell,  Archbishop 
of  Constantia  and  Coadjutor  to  the  Most  Reverend  John  J.  Wil- 
liams, Archbishop  of  Boston.  E^pon  his  return  to  America,  Arch- 
bishop O’Connell  vas  appointed  Administrator  of  the  Diocese  of 
Portland,  the  duties  of  which  (office  he  fulfilled  until  the  appoint- 
ment of  his  successor,  the  Rt.  Reverend  Louis  S.  Walsh,  D.  D. 

On  the  third  of  April,  1906,  in  the  Cathedral  of  the  Holy  Cross 
the  new  Coadjutor- Archbishop  was  formally  welcomed  by  the 
venerable  Archbishop  Williams  and  over  five  hundred  priests  of 
the  Archdiocese.  On  the  eighteenth  of  the  same  month  a 
most  distinguished  gathering  of  the  laity  including  representa- 
tives of  the  city,  state  and  nation  and  also  of  Japan,  tendered 


Most  Reverend  William  Henry  O’Connell,  D.  D.  59 


Archbishop  O’Connell  a banquet  and  reception  in  Symphony  Hall. 
It  was  a very  notable  event  in  the  annals  of  Boston.  For  over  a 
year  and  a half  the  new  Coadjutor- Archbishop  assisted  the  vener- 
able Xestor  of  the  American  hierarchy  until  on  August  thirtieth, 
1907,  upon  the  death  of  the  latter,  he  succeeded  to  the  Arch- 
bishopric of  Boston. 

The  formal  investiture  in  the  Sacred  Pallium  took  place  in  a 
most  solemn  and  memorable  service  that  was  held  in  the  Cathe- 
dral, January  twenty-ninth,  1908.  His  Eminence,  Cardinal  Gibbons, 
celebrated  the  Solemn  Pontifical  iMass  on  that  da}"  and  conferred 
the  Sacred  Pallium.  The  sermon  was  preached  by  the  Very  Rev- 
erend Fr.  Kearney,  O.  P.  Provincial  of  the  Dominican  Order. 

It  is  now  a little  over  a } ear  since  the  Most  Reverend  William 
H.  O’Connell  became  the  Second  Archbishop  of  Boston.  In  that 
short  timxe,  there  has  been  a decided  lea wakening  of  religious  life 
in  our  great  Archdiocese,  and  in  all  this  His  Grace  has  had  the  as- 
sistance of  his  vrorthy  Vicar  General,  the  Very  Rev.  George  J.  Pat- 
terson. Many  of  the  larger  parishes  of  the  city  that  had  become 
very  thickly  settled  and  rather  unwieldy,  have  been  divided  and 
new  parishes  created;  a commission  has  been  appointed  to  carry 
out  the  desired  reforms  in  Church  Music ; the  charitable  institutions 
under  Catholic  auspices  have  been  united  to  their  mutual  advan- 
tage; and  but  recently  “The  Boston  Pilot’’  has  been  bought  b}" 
His  Grace,  the  Most  Reverend  Archbishop,  and  shall  hereafter 
be  known  as  the  official  Catholic  paper  of  the  Archdiocese.  These 
are  but  a few  of  the  many  evidences  of  religious  activity  that  we 
are  now  witnessing  and  unless  all  signs  fail,  the  administration  of 
His  Grace  will  be  a very  worthy  and  illustrious  one.  The  many 
things  that  have  been  undertaken  under  his  wise  and  able  direction 
must  inevitably  bring  to  God’s  Church  in  this  great  Archdiocese 
remarkable  for  the  sterling  faith  of  its  people,  numbering  almost  a 
million  souls,  greater  influence  over  the  hearts  and  minds  of  men, 
making  them  at  once  more  devoted  to  God  and  countr}L 

Table  of  Statistics  showing  the  present  prosperous  condition  of  the 


Archdiocese  of  Boston. 

Archbishop i 

Bishop I 

Diocesan  Priests 493 

Priests  of  Religious  Orders 134 

Total 627 

Churches  with  resident  priest 209 


6o 


F^istory  of  l^osTON  Archdiockse 


Missions  with  Churches 50 

Total  Churches 259 

Brothers  (inch  novices  and  postulants) ....  140 

Religious  Women  (inch  novices  and  postu- 
lants)  1567 

Seminary  for  Diocesan  Clergy i 

Students 84 

Colleges  and  Academies  for  boys 3 

Students 547 

Normal  School  for  Brothers i 

Academies  for  young  ladies 8 

Girls  educated  in  higher  branches 825 

Parishes  with  Schools 75 

Parishes  with  High  Schools 22 

Boys  in  Grammar  Schools 21646 

Boys  in  High  Schools 500 

Total  number  of  boys  in  Schools 22146 

Girls  in  Grammar  Schools 27706 

Girls  in  High  Schools 653 

Total  number  of  girls  in  Schools 28359 

Total  number  of  children  in  Parochial  Schools  50505 

Number  of  Teaching  Communities 25 

Number  of  Teaching  Brothers 77 

Number  of  Teaching  Sisters .*.  . . 906 

Number  of  Lay  Teachers 45 

Total  number  of  Teachers 1028 

Orphan  As^dums 7 

Orphans 959 

Infant  Asylum 1 

Inmates  received  during  the  year S58 

School  for  Deaf  Mutes. i 

Pupils 102 

Industrial  and  Reform  Schools 2 

Inmates 548 

Total  of  young  people  under  Cath.  care 54444 

Hospitals 6 

Inmates  during  the  year 43t»7 

Out-patients ! 66703 

Homes 7 

Inmates S76 

Catholic  Population,  about 800,000 


NEWfci>j(3LAND 
D£POSnDRYLIBRAfii 
BOSTON  CGLLE6E 


